Sun Down Towns

Recently in class a documentary regarding sun down towns was shown. The documentary discussed the rumor if these towns were still existent or not. A sun down town was a town in the Jim Crow Era that did not condone black people being within city limits after daylight. If a black person was caught within the town they risked being not only beaten, but potentially murdered. The documentary explored two towns in particular that were known sun down towns in the past.

 These towns have maintained such a low percentage of blacks to this day that it has led people to believe that they may still remain true to their sun down town reputation. One of the main investigations revolved around a small town in Indiana where a 21 year old black female was murdered after having been in the town after dark. She was reportedly selling encyclopedias and when she failed to make her way out of the town before dark she was then followed and later murdered. To this day the case remains open as no one has been charged for her murder. Click this link to learn more about Carol Jenkins murder

The topic of african americans in this town remains a sensitive topic, as when the main investigator in the documentary hinted at the obvious lack of racial diversity he was asked to leave the restaurant he was at. Sun Down Towns are an unfortunate reminder of America's dark history as a racially oppressed country for much of the 1900's.I've attached the link to the documentary here for anyone interested.