Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism

I knew the racist mentality was always alive and living well in the U.S. But I had no idea how strong and ugly racism in America was until my husband and I adopted children from non-white backgrounds. Mr. Loewen’s book (as well as having children of color) has truly enlightened me. I don’t understand how “smart”, educated people from my race can be so “stupid” about people who happen to have a different shade of skin. Racism IS alive and thriving in the world. At times, I am ashamed to be the color I am because people of color look at me as if I had no love in my heart. Wake up, people! Read this gentleman’s books! Enlighten yourselves! We are all one race….the human race! God said, “Love one another”.

"Sundown Towns" is, in equal parts disturbing and fascinating. Through careful research Dr. Loewen has uncovered a hidden chapter in our recent past and sheds light on why such places still exist today. It is a stunning work and highly recommended. I was particularly shocked to see how many Illinois (my home state) towns show up in the book...this in the "Land of Lincoln". This is an important book and should be read by everyone.

SUNDOWN TOWNS is a powerful, compelling, and deeply disturbing exploration of the dynamics of racism in the USA. I have been a diversity trainer and consultant for more than 30 years, and I only knew an infinitesimal fraction of the appalling story of the "ethnic cleansing" that took place in this country between 1890 and 1930. The legacy of Sundown Towns lives and breathes with us every day and in every way. Until we acknowledge this grim and ugly past, we cannot hope to overcome the vast racial divide that exists in the USA. Loewen's research and analysis are a profound wake-up call for all Americans, whether they are black, white, Latino, or Asian-American. It deserves your attention! Bob Abramms, www.odt.org, Amherst MA

Wow! This book does a great job of explaining how our villages and towns became so segregated. And until reading it I hadn't really realized how segregated we are. Loewen starts the book by recapping how our country changed after the Civil War. I had heard of the migration north, but I didn't know that many of the newly-freed slaves actually had their own farms in the midwest. Racism slowly drove them off these farms and into groups in larger cities. Loewen also explains how whites then responded by moving to suburbs and instituting measures to keep their new communities white. Some 80% of the Chicago suburbs had some type of codes that restricted certain races from settling there. Loewen also made it clear that the sundown town practice was mainly a northern one. He did a lot of investigation of Illinois towns and found quite a few towns that had taken measures to prevent African Americans from settling or buying property within the town. He did also include examples of the practice existing on the East Coast to restrict Jewish people from WASP areas and on the West Coast to restrict Chinese or Asian immigrants from living outside their neighborhoods. This book tells a fascinating story of our country and how segregation took hold. Read it!

So many American historians tell us what we want to hear. Prof. Loewen tells us what we very much *need* to hear. A sundown town, good reader, is a town that will allow a given race to pass through provided it gets out by sunset. _Sundown Towns_ is the story of how much of small-town America came to be all-white, or so nearly all-white as to make mock of diversity. Growing up a white Westerner in mostly white towns, I always had the question about race relations: "Why the hell would such a high percentage of black people choose to live in nasty big cities? Why don't they move here? I won't hurt 'em. Their kids would get better educations and they'd do fine." It sounds so easy. Did any of you ever wonder that? As Prof. Loewen documents with the greatest of care, after the Civil War that's what happened. And then, town by town, said black people were driven out and told never to return. The census figures combined with eyewitness accounts will admit of no other conclusion. Black people ended up concentrated in the only areas that were relatively safe to be black in. The American landscape was an immense minefield for them after 1890: can't stop here for gas, can't even pass through here, can't spend the night here. At some point you just go to Detroit, or wherever, and try and make do. I live in Kennewick, Washington, which along with Richland (its sister city) was a sundown town until at least the mid-1960s. Every approach I make to delve into the topic is met with cold silence and deep disapproval. People don't return my phone calls, and I see fear in people's eyes. It is obvious that what I am seeing is a shame reaction, the hope that the last witnesses will die off before anyone records the truth. For many of us, _Sundown Towns_ is a family story. Thank all the gods it's such a well-told one. Prof. Loewen is thorough and meticulous, but never dull. His style is interesting and accessible, never pretentious. He incorporates his own recollections but they do not dominate the narrative. But all the other great qualities of this essential book pale before that greatest one for the historian: it's convincing. This is an addition to our history. It has spurred me to discuss the matter with many people, of all races, and has helped me to understand that parts of the 'sundown town' concept are alive and well today. The moment you read it, your understanding will change--not in a namby-pamby do-gooder way, but in the way that comes from honest comprehension. In the same way _Guns, Germs and Steel_ provoked good dialogue and thought, so will _Sundown Towns_--the difference being that Prof. Loewen need not speculate. He has enough facts to state rather than surmise. If this country gave out knighthoods, I'd raise hell until James Loewen got one. As it is, I can merely thank him for loving his country enough to tell it the truth.

The author did an outstanding job in chronicling the attitudes of the various towns across America, and why they are the way they are. Many of these attitudes still exist, and what surprised me was that a town within minutes from where I live, was mentioned, as a Sundown Town. The surprise came not about the town, but that the author had not missed it in his review of Sundown Towns in America. This book is a good read for all Americans, and reflects that a lot of work still needs to be accomplished if it is to truly be the land of the free, and the home of the brave.