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A sundown town was a community in the United States where non-whites — especially African Americans — were systematically excluded from living in or passing through after the sun went down. This allowed maids and workmen to provide unskilled labor during the day. They came into existence in the late 19th century during what sociologists have described as the nadir of American race relations. Sundown towns existed throughout the nation, but more often were located in the northern states that were not pre-Civil War slave states. There have not been any de jure sundown towns in the country since the legislation in the 1960s inspired by the American Civil Rights Movement, though de facto sundown towns existed at least into the 1970s. Their continued existence is the subject of some debate.

In some cases, signs were placed at the town's borders with statements similar to the one posted in Hawthorne, California which read "Nigger, Don't Let The Sun Set On YOU In Hawthorne" in the 1930s.^[1]

In some cases, the exclusion was official town policy or through restrictive covenants agreed to by the real estate agents of the community. In others, the racist policy was enforced through intimidation. This intimidation could occur in a number of ways, including harassment by law enforcement officers.

Though no one knows the number of sundown towns in the United States, the largest attempt made to determine how common they were estimated that there were several thousand towns throughout the nation. Most of the documented sundown towns are in the state of Illinois, but that may not be truly representative of their distribution, as sundown towns are difficult to pin down given the reluctance for the towns themselves to have, or to reveal, official documents stating their status as sundown towns.

Since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and especially since the Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibited racial discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing, the number of sundown towns has decreased. However, as sociologist James Loewen writes in his book on the subject, it is impossible to precisely count the number of sundown towns at any given time, because most towns have not kept records of the ordinances or signs that marked the town's sundown status.^[2] His book, Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism, claimed that several cities across America may have been sundown towns at some point in their history. These towns include: Anna, Illinois; Ashland, Illinois; Benton, Illinois; Berwyn, Illinois; Casey, Illinois; Cicero, Illinois; Kennewick, Washington; Myakka City, Florida; Pana, Illinois; Pekin, Illinois; Pinckneyville, Illinois; Vidor, Texas; Vienna, Illinois; Virden, Illinois and West Frankfort, Illinois.

Loewen's book mentions that sundown status meant more than just African-Americans not being able to live in these towns. Essentially any African-American (or sometimes other groups) who came into sundown towns after sundown were subject to harassment up to and including lynching.

In addition to the expulsion of African Americans from some small towns, Chinese Americans were also driven out of some of the towns where they lived. For example, in 1870, Chinese made up one-third of the population of Idaho. Following a wave of violence and an 1886 anti-Chinese convention in Boise, almost none remained by 1910. ^[3] The town of Gardnerville, Nevada blew a whistle at 6 p.m. daily alerting Native Americans to leave by sundown.^[4] In addition, Jews were excluded from living in some sundown towns.^[5]

• Jim Crow laws

Loewen, James W. (2005). Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. New Press. ISBN 1-56584-887-X. 

• Review and feature article, Dallas Morning News
• Interview with James Loewen, U.S. News
• Article on Vidor, Texas's long time reputation as a sundown town
• David Neiwert's article on sundown towns at Orcinus
• Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: Sundown Towns