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James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Remembering James W. Loewen

Historical Database of Sundown Towns

Select a state from the map below to view a list of sundown towns
FL MI ME NY PA VA WV OH IN IL WI NC TN AR MO GA SC KY AL LA MS IA MN OK TX NM KS NE SD ND WY MT CO ID UT AZ NV OR CA NH VT RI CT NJ DE MD DC MA

Welcome to the world’s only registry of sundown towns. Just click on a state to see an alphabetical list of all the sundown towns we know about, think may been sundown towns, and have managed to get up onto the site.

A sundown town is not just a place where something racist happened. It is an entire community (or even county) that for decades was “all white” on purpose. “All white” is in quotes because some towns allowed one black family to remain when they drove out the rest. Also, institutionalized persons (in prisons, hospitals, colleges, etc.), live-in servants (in white households), and black or interracial children (in white households) do not violate the taboo.

“On purpose” does not require a formal ordinance. If, for example, a black family tried to move in, encountered considerable hostility, and left, that would qualify the town as “sundown.” Note that some sundown towns kept out Chinese Americans, Jews, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, even Mormons.

Not all towns are thoroughly confirmed. Look over the information provided and come to your own conclusion. Some towns are not and never were sundown towns but are listed for other reasons. And of course, a town may have been sundown once, but now is not. Ferguson, MO, was a sundown town between 1940 and 1960. By 2014, when racial conflict famously erupted there, it was 67% black, so it was certainly no longer a sundown town. However, like some other “recovering” sundown towns, it still displayed “second generation sundown town problems”, in this case an overwhelmingly white police force that still engaged in “DWB policing.”

That’s one reason why all former sundown towns should take Loewen’s three-step program or another formal step to put their white supremacist pasts behind them. As well, that’s a reason to confirm every sundown town, even if it no longer keeps people out. So if you know a town was a sundown town, kindly email us telling us so, with specific data if you have it. On this website is a small article, “How to Confirm Sundown Towns“, with ideas to help you. If you know of a town that has gotten over its past, also tell us so, with specific data if you have it.

Please note: if a town is not listed, that does not mean it is not a sundown town. We hardly claim to have information on every town in the U.S. Again, we seek your aid.