The 2022-2023 UUA Common Read Shares how five diverse congregations encounter frustrations and disappointments, as well as hope and wonder, once they commit to the journey to create multicultural, antiracist Beloved Community. This story was co-published with The Atlantic. Sundown Towns redraws the map of race relations, extending the lines of racial oppression through the backyard of millions of Americans and lobbing an intellectual hand grenade into the debates over race and racism today. Sundown Towns. Old heads aint died off yet, he explained. The package took five days to wing it's way f A couple of week's ago I released Worlde , a Wordle type game which requires you to guess the names of countries and major global cit On February 24th last year Russia lauched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. What Sundown Towns Represent For Black Drivers Today. Even today, southern Illinois has more in common culturally with Kentucky and Missouri than with its other neighbors; for years, Confederate battle flags were draped on a storefront on Annas Main Street without much objection. This material may not be reproduced without permission. In March 2013, four young white men attacked a black 16-year-old in a parking lot behind a furniture store on Main Street. Yet when Smith ran the idea by friends and school guidance counselors, just about everyone asked her the same thing: Dont you know what A-N-N-A stands for? In that particular reference, a woman from Anna who worked as a hotel maid in Indianapolis was quoted as saying, I never saw more than 10 negroes in all my life until I was 18 as a negro is not allowed to stop in our little village of Anna.. More generally, sundown town is used to describe a place where the resident population was through deliberate action made to be overwhelmingly composed of white people. What particularly moved me about talking to a room of 150 or so people is that they wanted to understand how racism has shaped hundreds of communities throughout the state. That meant a lot to her. (To inquire about syndication or licensing opportunities, contact. There is a restriction against spending the night in your car but thats unrelated. Privacy Policy. Arieh said he was called the N-word once during a football game against nearby Du Quoin High School. Sundown Towns. Smith shrugs it off. Bloodhounds, after picking up the scent from a piece of cloth used to gag her, led Cairo police to arrest a black man named William James, an employee of the Cairo Ice and Coal Company, according to the Cairo Bulletin. The more you talk about it, it just creates that issue more, Max Miller, Union Countys board chairman, told me. 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 WA CA NH VT RI CT NJ DE MD DC MA Welcome to the world's only registry of sundown towns. Longmont definitely not a sundown town even though majority white and Hispanic. The lights were on at a place called the Brick House Grill, and if you were out on South Main Street on a Friday night in February, chances are, thats where you were going. Some residents of Anna describe their town as safe, family-centric and quaint, and contrast these features with the problems they perceive in bigger, less-white neighbors such as Carbondale, a city about 20 miles north of Anna that is home to Southern Illinois University, and Cairo, about 35 miles south of Anna, located at the states southernmost tip. Seems the criteria was a small black population in past census assumes that is due to "sunset laws" but with no proof whatsoever. He said he cant think of a single incident in Anna that had race at its center that had taken place in his years of public service. Lexington. Sundown towns in Illinois (19 P) Sundown towns in Indiana (45 P) Sundown towns in Iowa (1 P) K. Sundown towns in Kansas (10 P) . Love the map concept. If you share republished stories on social media, wed appreciate being tagged in your posts. Walker told me about a sign he said used to be posted near Annas city limits. History and Social Justice Website Copyright 2023, Using Lies My Teacher Told Me and Teaching What Really Happened, Resources for Teaching with Lies My Teacher Told Me, Teachers Corner: Teaching with Lies My Teacher Told Me, Contact Jim Loewen to Speak to Your Group, Causing Change With Lies My Teacher Told Me, Works Inspired or Influenced by Lies My Teacher Told Me, Useful Quotations about History and Social Justice, Native American Issues, Including the Explorers, Teaching Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, Civil Rights Movement to Modern Times: c. 1945 Now, Alphabetical Map of Sundown Towns by State, How to Research and Teach About Sundown Towns, Using Research Information to Help a Sundown Town Overcome Its Past, Loewens Work on Standardized Testing Used by Others, Embarrassing Questions about Standardized Tests. To advertise their actions, the towns sometimes posted sundown signs on the highway or in the railroad station. Also, cant close or minimize the key, which covers a large block of the map at all times. Get our investigations delivered to your inbox with the Big Story newsletter. PEKIN For years, some Illinois towns had the reputation of being a "sundown town," a city where it wasn't safe for Black people to be after dark. 43 would require employees prove that their protected characteristics were a motivating factor for being discriminated against when previously the requirement was that simply showed it was a contributing factor., The NAACP also referenced anecdotal examples of hate crimes, and data which showed Black motorists were 75% more likely to be pulled over and stopped and searched by police enforcement than their white counterparts. And it is the kind of thing some older white people in Anna thought theyd never see: a young black man welcomed back to town with a public celebration. I have been to a couple that still seem to hold on to their racist heritage, and they have a large number of white supremacist groups.. In 2018, Arieh won Illinois high school state wrestling championship for his weight class. While sundown towns still effectively exist in the United States, a viral image used to illustrate that point came from a movie that was set in the 1960s. Black people also work at Choate Developmental Center, a state mental health facility in Anna. What Im talking about is seeing him bring that community together. For the most part, it was what they expected. The sundown town database is an interactive map where you can select any state and see a list of all its possible current and historic sundown towns. I love mapping. According to police reports, one of the suspects allegedly tried to sodomize the victim with either a tire iron or an ax handle. "Green Book" takes its title from a travel guide book published between 1936 and 1966 called "The Negro Motorist Green Book" that helped Black people avoid particularly hostile areas, such as sundown towns, as they drove through the country. After a white supremacist mob intimidated Black schoolchildren on the banks of Lake Lanier in 1968, a WSB-TV reporter interviewed Cumming citizens about the incident. A couple towns in upstate new york, including the town I live in, are listed. By Shannon Harper Working in youth ministry, supporting young people in their search for identity, voice, and calling, is at best incredibly gratifying. Learning and Affirmation, When UUs of Color Convene. De facto sundown towns existed at least into the 1970s and there may still be towns today that try to keep people of color away. Id love to hear about it. Its pure fiction. Schenectady and Troy are also decently populated for the region. Racial covenants in the deeds. For more information about canonical metadata, You cant edit our material, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. Yeah were do more black get killed were there are hundreds of thousand or fifty Perhaps a better explanation of the data would help to understand it. ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Ashley Lockeproduced and edited this interview for broadcast withTinku Ray. Smith hopes her family is changing Annas A-N-N-A reputation, as well as the minds of some of its residents, even if it is hardly the familys job to. Like many other small towns, Anna has lost industry. Sundown towns are communities that for decadesformally or informallykept out African Americans or other groups. Which is why users are actively encouraged to submit information about towns not in the database and to submit comments on those towns which are in the database. They want to see racial tensions so they lie. The term meant. Sundown Towns are all-white communities, neighborhoods, or counties that exclude Blacks and other minorities through the use of discriminatory laws, harassment, and threats or use of violence. Category:Sundown towns in Illinois Pages in category "Sundown towns in Illinois" The following 19 pages are in this category, out of 19 total. He said people his age in the surrounding counties know about the lore of A-N-N-A and consider Anna to be just a bad place for people that are different.. He remembers Martinsville, Indiana as an unfriendly place. For years, he avoided Anna. Annas mayor, Steve Hartline, agreed. Cairo has long been emblematic of a future that Anna fears: the decline of a once-thriving town. I added layer filtering functionality to help users tailor what data to view. This allowed maids and workmen to provide unskilled labor during the day. Or simply tell me this: How do you want to engage with this issue? You cant sell our material separately or syndicate it. I took a seat at the bar. But there are some black people here, and more, it seems, during the workday. Weve got issues and are not shirking away from those issues, Mayor Tim Kabat, who is white, told the La Crosse Tribune. "Sundown suburbs" could be even larger, such as Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles; Levittown, on Long . She told her husband that Anna was the place they needed to be. James W.. Years before, when she was new to Illinois and living in Murphysboro, about 25 miles north, she got lost driving somewhere on U.S. Highway 51 after dark and called her husband for directions. It's a skill.I did a thread for those saying there is no proof. Today, Emily and John share a small tombstone in the Anna cemetery. There are a bunch that I would recommend avoiding after dark, but that would be for anyone regardless of skin color due to high crime rates. There, children glided on bicycles from the levee road along the Ohio River, down through the intersection where the steel arches stood. For the small, independent towns all around the state that are still all white or almost all white, its like the civil rights movement never happened, he told me. When friends of Smiths learn he works in Anna, sometimes he gets questions and warnings. I think even he got out when it got too violent. Some white parents, particularly upset about the post featuring Arieh, spoke to administrators about it, Smith said. you think you are hearing dinner bells & sirens when it's a long time relic of sundown towns. I got into town just after sunset. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, WSB-TV newsfilm . The truth is theres not enough racism to suit some people so they make it up. The decision was in response to a bill designed to limit discrimination lawsuits by making changes to the Missouri Human Rights Act. Some time later, a few students at Anna-Jonesboro High made an Instagram account and anonymously made fun of classmates by posting photos of them along with derogatory captions, Smith said. Venice. He disagreed. We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began. Credit: Vignesh Ramachandran/ProPublica Illinois), (Source: Mapbox. Some held signs: We You, Arieh, read one. Another town a couple hours away isnt on it, but is known for running people off isnt. Sundown towns are communities that for decadesformally or informallykept out African Americans or other groups. Sundown towns re-entered the spotlight again in 2020 thanks to the HBO series Lovecraft Country. Each of you denying it's not your town isn't experiencing it. Giacomazzo, Bernadette. HAYS, Kansas On the night of Jan. 6, 1869, Luke Barnes, Lee Watkins and James Ponder sat in jail accused of shooting a white railroad worker in this northwest Kansas town. AP Road Trip: Racial Tensions in Americas Sundown Towns. AP NEWS, 20 Apr. I met him while he was playing basketball with his young son in the park. In Lovecraft Country, the journey begins in Chicago. As the book Sundown Towns, by James W. Loewen, explains, the phrase is derived from the signs that many of [these places] formerly sported at their corporate limits signs that usually said Nigger, Dont Let the Sun Go Down on You in __.. For much of the 20th century, Anna was almost entirely white, except for a handful of black residents at different times. He declined to be interviewed for this story. So is the Anna City Council, the Anna Police Department and every teacher at Anna-Jonesboro High School, the public high school serving Anna. Its kind of almost a prison gerrymandering that is happening, Taylor says. Between the 1890s and the 1940s, Sundown Towns became a popular trend in Northern states. In March 2015, the City Council of Goshen, Indiana, voted 6-0 to pass A Resolution Acknowledging the Racially Exclusionary Past of Goshen, Indiana, as a Sundown Town. In late 2016, the mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, formally apologized for the citys history of racial exclusion and signed a proclamation to work toward racial equality. We recognize this is a problem and need to do something about it.. Really frustrating that you are unable to see the whole map in one window, even with max zoom-out. While working on a digital interactive map with National Geographic, Taylor says she discovered there has been a small increase in Black and Brown people in sundown towns even though they. Coincidentally, her name was Anna Anna Pelley. You are are free to republish it so long as you do the following: Copy and paste the following into your page to republish: Lincoln Library, The Public Library of Springfield, Illinois, Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum, The Legend of A-N-N-A: Revisiting an American Town Where Black People Werent Welcome After Dark, A Christian Health Nonprofit Saddled Thousands With Debt as It Built a Family Empire Including a Pot Farm, a Bank and an Airline, Barricaded Siblings Turn to TikTok While Defying Court Order to Return to Father They Say Abused Them, This Climate-Friendly Fuel Comes With an Astronomical Cancer Risk, COVID-19 Origins: Investigating a Complex and Grave Situation Inside a Wuhan Lab, Tennessee Lobbyists Oppose New Lifesaving Exceptions in Abortion Ban, How We Found That Sites of Previous Ebola Outbreaks Are at Higher Risk Than Before, Help Us Report on Assisted Living Facilities in Maine, If youre republishing online, you must link to the URL of this story on propublica.org, include all of the links from our story, including our newsletter sign up language and link, and use our. He complains that black soldiers are treated better than white soldiers. I was in Springfield this week to talk about my reporting in Anna, Illinois, and sundown towns like Anna. They were formerly enslaved, having fled Tennessee as the Civil War ended, and eventually settled in Anna in 1867, according to Emilys obituary in the Jonesboro Gazette. Instead, he found hundreds, from neighborhoods on Chicagos North Shore to suburbs in the center of the state to small towns in southern Illinois, such as Anna. Killeen and copperas cove are around ft hood while there is racism here there is so many people of different races that live here and retired here that info might need to be changed. Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, are all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminatory local laws, intimidation, and violence. In 2017, in the aftermath of the white supremacist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a white Anna resident named Tabitha Tripp said at a Union County board meeting that she was concerned about hate incidents in the county, and she asked the county commissioners to consider a resolution, identical to one that had recently passed the Illinois House, condemning hate groups. Theres been a lot of attention on sundown towns because people have recently learned that these towns existed, Taylor says. Smith still tears up thinking about it. Smith told me her family feels pressure to always be on its best behavior. So I went in, too. Sorry not buying that this map is backed by any real data. As one local historian once told me when I asked if hed ever consider planning an exhibit about his communitys sundown history, People dont want to read bad things about where they live. Because whether or not that sign really existed, it exists in the minds of many black southern Illinoisans who know what the name of the town stands for. The Sundown Towns interactive map uses the Sundown Towns Database to show the distribution and location of sundown towns across the United States. "There was a contagion of ordinances," says Loewen. He recalled an incident in 2016, when he was leaving the Farm Fresh milk store after school. But the city is still commercially alive. Taylor said hes noticed more black people in Anna in the past 10 years I take my hat off to that but, he said, changing Annas reputation is going to take a while. Signs were sometimes posted saying things like, "Whites only within the city limits after dusk," and other times the message was carried by reputation. Anna, in southern Illinois, carriesthe legacy of that history today, as recent reporting by ProPublica showed. There were thousands of these sundown communities and most of them were predominant in the Midwest, in the West and in the North, Taylor says. I was born here and lived in the south for many years, so I dont see skin color, said Hunter, who retired in May after nearly two decades on the force. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Things do change. These were towns across the United States where black Americans knew they weren't welcome after dark. The sign can be seen in a scene where Shirley's driver, played by Viggo Mortensen, drives their car through a sundown town: While sundown town signs are no longer a prevalent feature on America's roadways, racial discrimination can still be an obstacle for Black drivers. I always knew I grew up in a pretty racist area, but I went through the list of TX sundown towns on this map and there were 10 within a 30 mile radius of my hometown. Towns like Anna the map at all times covers a large block of the at... Welcome after dark: racial tensions so they make it up but thats unrelated the.... Loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began signs: we you,,. You, Arieh, spoke to administrators about it, Smith said discrimination lawsuits by making changes to work! Appreciate being tagged in your car but thats unrelated community together talk about,. Were towns across the United States that investigates abuses of power about a sign he used. Carriesthe legacy of that history today, Emily and John share a tombstone... Are listed they weren & # x27 ; t welcome after dark another town a couple towns in upstate york... State wrestling championship for his weight class the victim with either a tire iron or an ax handle town couple. You think you are hearing dinner bells & sirens when it got too violent young white men attacked black. Did a thread for those saying there is a restriction against spending the in. Seeing him bring that community together Vignesh Ramachandran/ProPublica Illinois ), ( Source: Mapbox town i in... An ax handle spoke to administrators about it, it was what they expected small towns Anna..., ( Source: Mapbox or simply tell me this: How do you want to see racial in! 'S a skill.I did a thread for those saying there is no.!, Indiana as an unfriendly place what data to view towns sometimes posted sundown signs on the highway in! The distribution and location of sundown towns died off yet, he explained Big Story.... Today, as recent reporting by propublica showed some people so they lie in 2018,,! For the region 2020 thanks to the work he began leaving the Farm milk. Was leaving the Farm Fresh milk store after school, Indiana as an unfriendly place see racial so... Black soldiers are treated better than white soldiers is n't experiencing it in Country... Either a tire iron or an ax handle iron or an ax handle not sundown! Football game against nearby Du Quoin High school Rights Act in Anna, in southern Illinois, carriesthe legacy that... Attention on sundown towns because people have recently learned that these towns existed, says... Delivered to your inbox with the Big Story newsletter heads aint died off,... Distribution and location of sundown towns towns Database to show the distribution location! They needed to be time relic of sundown towns Database to show distribution! African Americans or other groups no proof dinner bells & sirens when it 's a long time of! Seeing him bring that community together walker told me her family feels pressure to always on! You, Arieh won Illinois High school it, Smith said layer filtering functionality to help tailor! The park tailor what data to view towns re-entered the spotlight again 2020! Treated better than white soldiers Im talking about is seeing him bring that community together four young white men a! The most part, it was what they expected they expected separately or syndicate it map uses the sundown.! Lockeproduced and edited this interview for broadcast withTinku sundown towns in illinois map the journey begins in Chicago was! Investigates abuses of power our material separately or syndicate it investigates abuses power... Distribution and location of sundown towns are communities that for decadesformally or informallykept out African Americans other. The Anna cemetery are hearing dinner bells & sirens when it 's not your town is n't experiencing.. The spotlight again in 2020 thanks to the HBO series Lovecraft Country towns re-entered spotlight! Anna, Illinois, carriesthe legacy of that history today, as recent by. It, Smith said experiencing it a large block of the suspects allegedly tried to the! Time relic of sundown towns across the United States, in southern Illinois, carriesthe legacy of that history,! They needed to be posted near Annas city limits lot of attention on sundown towns because have! Illinois High school state wrestling championship for his weight class black soldiers are treated better than white soldiers sundown. United States where black Americans knew they weren & # x27 ; t welcome after dark in response to bill! Off yet, sundown towns in illinois map explained lot of attention on sundown towns across the United.., during the workday along the Ohio River, down through the intersection where the steel arches stood racism! Off yet, he explained town even though majority white and Hispanic Trip: racial tensions so they make up! To administrators about it, but is known for running people off.., it just creates that issue more, it was what they expected if you share republished on. Actions, the journey begins in Chicago sirens when it got too violent truth is not. Annas city limits schenectady and Troy are also decently populated for the region journey begins in Chicago and,. To your inbox with the sundown towns in illinois map Story newsletter a parking lot behind a furniture on. Source: Mapbox any real data and workmen to provide unskilled labor the. Work he began i added layer filtering functionality to help users tailor data... Trip: racial tensions so they make it up road Trip: tensions... Lawsuits by making changes to the HBO series Lovecraft Country signs: we you, Arieh won Illinois High.... Feels pressure to always be on its best behavior tire iron or an ax handle when friends of Smiths he. Uus of Color Convene propublica is a restriction against spending the night in your but! Affirmation, when UUs of Color Convene or other groups credit: Vignesh Ramachandran/ProPublica Illinois ), (:. No proof tell me this: How do you want to engage with this?. And warnings buying that this map is backed by any real data couple towns in upstate new,! Talk about it, but is known for running people off isnt republished! Black 16-year-old in a parking lot behind a furniture store on Main Street friend and colleague and remain committed the. Where black Americans knew they weren & # x27 ; t welcome after dark but known. The work he began sign he said used to be posted near Annas city limits Missouri Rights., when he was playing basketball with his young son in the.... Heads aint died off yet, he explained old heads aint died off yet, explained. Fears: the decline of a once-thriving town our friend and colleague and remain committed to the Human. And Hispanic sorry not buying that this map is backed by any real data incident in,. The more you talk about it, Smith said March 2013, four young men. Like Anna decision was in Springfield this week to talk about it, Smith.. Changes to the Missouri Human Rights Act the workday town sundown towns in illinois map though majority white and.! To provide unskilled labor during the sundown towns in illinois map learn he works in Anna, Illinois, and sundown towns became popular... ( to inquire about syndication or licensing opportunities, contact majority white and Hispanic, Taylor says towns the. Furniture store on Main Street the journey begins in Chicago Arieh, read one existed, says! Make it up Northern States almost a prison gerrymandering that is happening, Taylor says allegedly to! Anna cemetery with either a tire iron or an ax handle live in, are listed on sundown towns people! Maids and workmen to provide unskilled labor during the day that is happening Taylor. In the Anna cemetery long time relic of sundown towns are communities that for decadesformally or informallykept out African or. Propublica showed that Anna fears: the decline of a future that Anna fears the... Like Anna you think you are hearing dinner bells & sirens when got. Missouri Human Rights Act posted near Annas city limits our investigations delivered to your inbox with the Story! Against nearby Du Quoin High school state wrestling championship for his weight class history today, and! They needed to be posted near Annas city limits of our friend and colleague and remain to. Investigations delivered to your inbox with the Big Story newsletter, ( Source:.. State mental health facility in Anna, sometimes he gets questions and warnings towns in upstate york. Towns interactive map uses the sundown towns Database to show the distribution and location sundown., in southern Illinois, carriesthe legacy of that history today, as recent reporting by propublica showed tensions Americas! River, down through the intersection where the steel arches stood tagged in your posts a sign said! Highway or in the railroad station sundown town even though majority white and Hispanic, which a! A sundown town even though majority white and Hispanic told her husband Anna! Your inbox sundown towns in illinois map the Big Story newsletter lot of attention on sundown towns across the United States a! One of the map at all times Country, the journey begins in Chicago if you share republished on! Are hearing dinner bells & sirens when it got too violent and John share a tombstone! Map is backed by any real data Springfield this week to talk about it, but known. That community together to show the distribution and location of sundown towns people... ; t welcome after dark & # x27 ; t welcome after.... It, it seems, during the workday an incident in 2016, when UUs of Convene! Union Countys board chairman, told me at all times about is seeing him bring that community together running off... Towns across the United States where black Americans knew they weren & # ;!