“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;”>James W. Loewen also is the author of Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism.
“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;” lang=”EN-US” xml:lang= “EN-US”>From Maine to California, thousands of communities kept out African Americans (or sometimes Chinese Americans, Jewish Americans, etc.) by force, law or custom. These communities are sometimes called “sundown towns” because some of them posted signs at their city limits, issuing graphic warnings against minorities being caught their after sundown. Some towns are still all white on purpose.
“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;” lang=”EN-US” xml:lang= “EN-US”>Their chilling stories have been joined more recently by the many elite (and some not so elite) suburbs like Grosse Pointe, Mich., or Edina, Minn., that have excluded nonwhites by “kinder, gentler” means.
“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;” lang=”EN-US” xml:lang= “EN-US”>“When I began this research, I expected to find about 10 sundown towns in Illinois (my home state) and perhaps 50 across the country,” Loewen said. “Instead, I have found more than 440 in Illinois and thousands across the United States. This is their story; it is the first book ever written on the topic.”
“font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;” lang=”EN-US” xml:lang= “EN-US”>For more information on Loewen’s books, visit
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“http://sundown.afro.illinois.edu/”>
“text-decoration: none;”>http://sundown.afro.illinois.edu/