Let’s be honest — there are still cities in America where Black folks don’t feel comfortable to travel. We’ve seen too much, heard too much, and lived too many stories of threats, harassment, and exclusion to ignore the signs. From the forced expulsions in Forsyth County, Georgia, to hate crimes in Jasper, Texas, the warnings to us still remain today. Even decades after Jim Crow, Black folks continue to face barriers, intimidation, and violence that make some places flat out unsafe.
Suggested Reading
We’ve rounded up 13 cities historically documented as “sundown towns,” where Black folks have faced racist, unsettling, or deadly incidents — reminders of a harrowing legacy that still urges caution today.
Jasper, Texas
On June 7, 1998, James Byrd Jr., a Black man, was murdered by three white men in Jasper, Texas. The perpetrators dragged Byrd by his ankles behind a pickup truck for three miles, resulting in his tragic death. Now, his loved ones are left questioning how much has actually changed in Texas, per The Texas Tribune.
Ocoee, Florida
On November 2, 1920, during the presidential election, Black residents of Ocoee attempted to exercise their right to vote, leading to violent retaliation by white mobs. Dozens of Black folks were hung, and Black-owned homes were burned to the ground amid the violence, per Calendar. Following the massacre, Ocoee was classified as a “sundown town.”
Forsyth County, Georgia
In 1912, Forsyth County faced a day of racial terror white mobs violently drove out more than 1,000 Black residents from town after three Black men were accused of assaulting a white woman, then 18-year-old Mae Crow, per NBC. Today less than 5% of the town is Black, and Georgians generally avoid the area. Oprah went on-air, interviewing White people from Forsyth, and let’s just say, the N-word was everywhere.
Erwin, Tennessee
As a sundown town, Erwin relied on a mix of discriminatory laws, threats, and acts of violence to keep non-white residents out. Elwood Watson, a historian at East Tennessee State University, described a billboard in Erwin that told Black folks, “Don’t let the sun set on your Black ass.”
“By that time [evening], you really just were not in that town. If you were, you could be literally, brutally murdered,” Watson stated, per Capital B News.
Harrison, Arkansas
In 1905, a white mob stormed the jail in Harrison, Arkansas, and took two Black prisoners. They were whipped and ordered to leave town. The mob then went on a rampage through Harrison’s Black community, further solidifying the town’s reputation as a sundown town, per Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Martinsville, Indiana
Martinsville, Indiana — a “former” sundown town — holds a cautionary past, as the harrowing story of the “girl in the yellow scarf” still haunts folks till today. In September 1968, Carol Jenkins, who sold encyclopedias door-to-door, alarmed a resident that she was being followed by a pair of White males. While the homeowner did alert authorities, she was later found with a screwdriver through the chest, per PBS. And till this day folks are on alert due to Martinsville history.
Appleton, Wisconsin
Appleton, Wisconsin, is a well-known “former” sundown town, earning the title for generations through the 1930s to the 1970s. Even Emmy-nominated comedian and actress Nicole Byer shared her hair-raising experience in the town, and vowed to never return.
“During my show, I had a white host, a Black featurer [introductory act], and the crowds were so unruly, and at one point, my Black feature was on stage…. A guy in the crowd was like, ‘Smile, we can’t see you.’ I was like, ‘What the f**k?’” she explained, per Entertainment Weekly.
Liberty, Tennessee
Liberty, Tennessee, historically known as a sundown town, embodied the symbol of the Black Mule. The symbol, painted in Black on a mountain, was a blatantly racist warning to Black folks — meaning “get your Black ass” out of town before nightfall, per Story Maps. The animal painting was used in other “former” sundown cities, located in Arkansas and Kentucky.
Louisville, Kentucky
Although former sundown town Louisville isn’t entirely White, it has deeply racist roots. In 1911, a city ordinance prevented Black folks from owning property in certain parts of the city, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in Buchanan v. Warley in 1917, per Oyez. Despite the law, exclusionary practices persisted.
Kennewick, Washington
Kennewick was a well-known sundown town, even through the 1960s. According to Racial Restrictive Covenants Project, this town was so notorious for its racist activity that Black workers were expected to cross the Columbia River bridge to East Pasco before dark, just to get home safely.
Corbin, Kentucky
Corbin, Kentucky became a sundown town on October 13, 1919, per Black in Appalachia. A disturbing incident solidified the title, when 200 Black railroad workers were forcibly removed from Corbin by a white mob, in what became known as the Corbin Race Riot. The Black community was driven out and the town maintained a nearly all-white population for decades, known as the Corbin Expulsion of 1919. Till this day the population is largely White, and Black folks remain wary, although an initiative seeks to reverse the stigma.
North Platte, Nebraska
In 1929, a Black man named Louis Seeman was accused of shooting and killing a White police officer, prompting a white mob to demand the expulsion of all Black residents from North Platte. Seeman was found dead shortly after, and the mob forcibly removed the Black community, effectively making North Platte a sundown town, per Same Passage.
Spring Valley, Illinois
In 1895, after a robbery and shooting incident involving an Italian miner, white miners in Spring Valley, Illinois, formed a mob and demanded the expulsion of Black miners, per Notable Kentucky African Americans Database. The mob’s actions led to the forced removal of Black residents from the town. And according to Data USA, White people remain the largest group by a significant margin.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.
