Basic Information
- Type of Place
- Independent City or Town
- Metro Area
- Politics c. 1860?
- Unions, Organized Labor?
Sundown Town Status
- Sundown Town in the Past?
- Surely
- Was there an ordinance?
- Sign?
- Perhaps, Some Oral Evidence
- Year of Greatest Interest
- Still Sundown?
- Probably Not, Although Still Very Few Black People
Census Information
| Total | White | Black | Asian | Native | Hispanic | Other | BHshld | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | ||||||||
| 1870 | ||||||||
| 1880 | ||||||||
| 1890 | ||||||||
| 1900 | 8420 | 8413 | 4 | |||||
| 1910 | 9897 | 8 | ||||||
| 1920 | 12086 | 31 | ||||||
| 1930 | 16122 | 1 | ||||||
| 1940 | 19,407 | 0 | ||||||
| 1950 | 28,858 | 4 | ||||||
| 1960 | ||||||||
| 1970 | 31375 | 31316 | 0 | |||||
| 1980 | ||||||||
| 1990 | 32,254 | 31,982 | 26 | |||||
| 2000 | 33,857 | 32,434 | 863 | 5 | ||||
| 2010 | 34,094 | 32,285 | 710 | 19 | ||||
| 2020 |
Method of Exclusion
- Reputation
Main Ethnic Group(s)
Group(s) Excluded
- Black
- Asian
Comments
In 2000, 707 of the 863 blacks are male, mostly 18-44. 5 households with a total pop. of 16.
In 2006, Pekin High School switched to a different athletic conference, primarily so its teams would not have to play interracial teams from Peoria. A series of incidents involving white racist taunts, etc., had marred football and basketball games when Peoria teams journeyed to Pekin. Most if not all teams in the new league are from sundown towns.
A Pekin student to a student from Peoria Manual: “Go back across the river, nigger!”
“We have friends who live in Pekin, and they don’t want us to drive through alone. We were over there, and it got dark, and they followed us out of town to make sure nothing happened to us.” (A black resident from a different town in 2004)
The EEOC visited Pekin in 1991 to investigate alleged job discrimination by several businesses including Pekin Insurance.
The Pekin High School mascot used to be the “Chinks” but was changed following pressure by Chinese Americans groups.