We need to bring this back everywhere, and right now.
People (we, you and me) should start just posting signs everywhere we can.
It was never really enforced, but some of the small towns around me had that kind of law on the books. I think most of them were quietly shuffled off back in the 80s.
Any chance you've got a pic of a sign or an ordinance? I've got a proposal for my next city council meeting and I'd rather not recreate the wheel if a good sign design and text for a bill are already available.
No, unfortunately. The last town I knew of that had Jim Crow laws still on the books never enforced it, and as such, never had any signs up.
They never needed to enforce it because who would want to go there.
The only way you are likely to find that is if a local library that had laws like that has a microfiche repository of old newspapers. A lot of libraries got rid of those a long time ago though. However, some that didn't started trying to digitize them so it might be hard but you might be able to find it in non-indexed online archives.
Southeast Texas (especially around Houston to Winnie and south to Brazoria county) was full of them.
The town my mom lives in had signs when she moved there years and years ago. I remember it was a big deal when they took them down. I was in rural North Georgia. It said something among the lines of no blacks after dark. I doubt she bothered to take any pics when they were up, but I will ask.
I didn't live in town but when I was a boy I went to school in the East Texas town of Grand Saline. The town was all white except for a couple of Hispanics. This was before the interstates came in so the main highway went straight through town. All the niggers in the surrounding areas called Grand Saline "Flop Town." They said if you got a flat in Grand Saline you didn't stop and fix it, you just flopped on through...
And, that worked. A town close to Grand Saline has a negro area, Wynne Community. All the usual nigro shit goes on there. The blacks that own land, livestock, farm, are usually straight shooters, do there business in town, and take care of their own business. GS is still very much a White town.
I figured out that the citizens of Grand Saline hated all black folks and most white folks. If you weren't born there you weren't from there. I don't know what they do now because, as far as I know, there's no hospital there any more so I guess nobody is from there?
There is still family land going way back.
Back in the 70's and 80s it was known the police in my county would pull over nogs driving on the local roads. It didn't matter if it was night or day. No official signs but it was not uncommon to see them on the side of the road with two or three police cars there. I miss those care free days.
I've never known sundown towns associated with laws or ordnances, I've alway understood that it was just common knowledge, that in the black culture, was to just not go outside after dark.
I know there was a town close to me that had a sign up as you entered all four ways in to town that read, "Dont let the Sun set on your black ass." in the 90's when I was in high school. So I guess if thats what your looking for, then yes there was, I doubt its still up but that would be fucking based if it was up to this day. That Towns name was Linton Indiana.
Another anecdote. Kinda proving OPs point here. Got any pics?
No, this was before cellphones, and didn't carry a camera on me all the time. I was just driving someone to that small town, but I remember seeing the sign and giggling. She was embarrassed by it and I just said something like bet you don't have to lock your door at night.
Yes. They absolutely existed. I spent a lot of time in one while visiting/staying with my Arkansan granparents.
