Sundown Towns

Sundown Towns are defined as "a form of segregation, in which a town, city, or neighborhood in the United States was purposely all-white, excluding people of other races. These restrictions were enforced by some combination of discriminatory local laws, intimidation, and violence". As imagined, these towns were prominent starting in the 1890's all the way to the 70's. These towns usually had signs posted at the city limits like the one below or even the famous black mule painting  on a mountain by a main road in Tennessee, which held the same meaning. 

Photo Credit

With the end of slavery, town as a whole wanted a new way to keep colored people out of their towns so they gathered together and posted these signs in order to keep the colored people away. They also emphasized violence if a colored person was to be caught after sunset in those towns, saying that they would be killed, and many of them were in fact. These towns were not few and far but actually frequent. They were not just in the South either, sundown towns were spread equally across the country. These towns are not just a thing of the past, many people today grow up or willing still reside in sundown towns that are still prominent today. Sadly these sundown towns still do exist, signs and all. 

To see what towns are still possibly sundown towns click here

and to read more about sundown towns, click