Basic Information
- Type of Place
- Suburb
- Metro Area
- DC
- Politics c. 1860?
- Don’t Know
- Unions, Organized Labor?
- Don’t Know
Sundown Town Status
- Sundown Town in the Past?
- Probable
- Was there an ordinance?
- Don't Know
- Sign?
- Don’t Know
- Year of Greatest Interest
- Still Sundown?
- Don’t Know
Census Information
| Total | White | Black | Asian | Native | Hispanic | Other | BHshld | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | ||||||||
| 1870 | ||||||||
| 1880 | ||||||||
| 1890 | ||||||||
| 1900 | ||||||||
| 1910 | ||||||||
| 1920 | ||||||||
| 1930 | ||||||||
| 1940 | ||||||||
| 1950 | ||||||||
| 1960 | ||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||
| 1980 | ||||||||
| 1990 | ||||||||
| 2000 | ||||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||
| 2020 |
Method of Exclusion
- Reputation
Main Ethnic Group(s)
- Unknown
Group(s) Excluded
- Black
Comments
Brentwood was a sundown suburb until the 1960s.
Blacks had to live in nearby North Brentwood.
An elderly Maryland resident who was born in North
Brentwood says, “We weren’t allowed on 34th St.,”
referring to the main north-south business street of
Mt. Rainier, the next white town just southwest of
North Brentwood. “If we went on 34th St.,” on
bicycles, in her childhood, “we better be flying.”
Otherwise, “they threw things at us, called us ‘nigger,’
‘spook,’ all kind of things.” “The white children?” I
asked. “Uh-huh,” she affirmed, “and the adults.” She
also detailed threats made by one white homeowner,
in particular, including leaflets he gave to black
children that used racial slurs and stated “One-Way
Ticket Back to Africa.”
An entire racial etiquette was passed down in
North Brentwood regarding what one could and could
not do in adjoining sundown towns. One was allowed
to walk only on the north side of Rhode Island Avenue,
for example, the main artery leading into Washington,
D.C. When going to the Safeway supermarket, one
must cross Rhode Island Avenue at the Safeway, not
before, then cross back after shopping. One could
take the streetcar or bus into the District but one must
not get off until the district line. African Americans
could watch the Fourth of July fireworks in Magruder
Park in Hyattsville, the neighboring town to the north
of North Brentwood, from their own side of the river
that created the border between the two towns, but
could not set foot in Magruder Park. And underlying
all these rules was the generalized fear of what whites
might do. “Our parents had been treated so badly, by
white people,” Mrs. Thomas explained, “that they
warned us.”