Sundown towns : a hidden dimension of American racism / James W. Loewen.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface to the 2018 edition -- Note to the reader -- Part I:introduction. The importance of sundown towns ; The nadir: incubator of sundown towns -- Part II: the history of sundown towns: The great retreat ; How sundown towns were created ; Sundown suburbs -- Part III: the sociology of sundown towns: Underlying causes ; Catalysts and origin myths ; Hidden in plain view: knowing and not knowing about sundown towns -- Part IV: sundown towns in operation. Enforcement ; Exceptions to the sundown rule -- Part V: Effects of sundown towns. The effect of sundown towns on Whites ; The effect of sundown towns on Blacks ; The effect of sundown towns on the social system -- Part VI: the present and future of sundown towns. Sundown towns today ; The remedy: integrated neighborhoods and towns -- Appendix A: methodological notes on Table 1 -- Appendix B: how to confirm sundown towns .

Investigates segregation practices in the northern sections of twentieth-century America revealing how racial exclusion and oppression persisted into the contemporary era, in an account that challenges modern beliefs about race and racism.