Racial history, legacy and economic development

Historical Shadows: The Links between Sundown Towns and Contemporary Black–White Inequality

“…When considering the contemporary legacy of sundown towns—places that excluded people based on ideas about race—there are clear implications for understanding the production of racial inequalities. Despite discussion of this connection (see especially Loewen 2005), research has yet to address the link between sundown towns and contemporary black–white economic inequality (for a partial exception, see Crowe and Ceresola 2014). Drawing attention to sundown towns is especially appealing because it could aid in explaining why disparities are sometimes most pronounced where the black population is smallest, and it adds to our understanding of historical legacies by addressing the extent to which history matters for inequality outside of the southern region.…”

“…In addition, sundown towns offer a unique opportunity to consider the parallel components of black–white inequality—black disadvantage as well as white advantage—because both are implicated in the development of sundown towns. Specifically, antiblack attitudes have been connected to places with a sundown history (Crowe and Ceresola 2014; Loewen 2005), which suggests that any connection to contemporary inequality would operate through increased black disadvantage. However, at their roots, sundown towns were founded on the protection of white spaces (see Loewen 2005), which suggests that they may affect contemporary inequality more so by supporting enhanced white advantage rather than directly affecting the economic outcomes of blacks.…”

“…Reminiscent of social contact arguments that suggest interaction with an outgroup helps reduce negative perceptions (see especially Pettigrew et al 2011), Loewen (2005) articulates how the racially insulating nature of places that are “all-white on purpose” help breed and support negative perceptions of blacks. Simultaneously, white residents of historical sundown towns maintain a prowhite perspective when they insist that living in an all-white community is a right (see especially Crowe and Ceresola 2014).…”

“…Both consequences of sundown towns—antiblack attitudes and segregation—could contribute to contemporary black–white economic inequality. However, previous work has primarily focused on the former when discussing the contemporary consequences of sundown towns (Crowe 2012; Crowe and Ceresola 2014). I advance the previous conceptual framing by arguing that both the attitudinal and segregation consequences of sundown towns matter.…”

New Faces in Rural Places: Patterns and Sources of Nonmetropolitan Ethnoracial Diversity since 1990

“…Even today, the influence of past sundown status is evident. In addition to having the deterrent effect of a reputation for racism, former sundown communities appear more likely than other places to forgo economic development initiatives that might attract black and Hispanic workers and thus erode their homogeneous character (Crowe ; Crowe and Ceresola ; cf. McConnell and Miraftab ).…”