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James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Mooresville

Indiana

Basic Information

Type of Place
Independent City or Town
Metro Area
Politics c. 1860?
Don’t Know
Unions, Organized Labor?
Don’t Know

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Surely
Was there an ordinance?
Don't Know
Sign?
Perhaps, Some Oral Evidence
Year of Greatest Interest
Still Sundown?
Probably Not, Although Still Very Few Black People

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present
Total White Black Asian Native Hispanic Other BHshld
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930 1910 1
1940
1950
1960
1970 5800 0
1980 5349 0
1990 5541 5
2000 9273 8 37 28 67
2010
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Threat of Violence
  • Violence Towards Newcomers
  • Private Bad Behavior

Main Ethnic Group(s)

  • Unknown

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black

Comments

Email 1/2008
Racism is still evident in Mooresville. Confederate flags fly on poles at many houses and in the back of cars and trucks. Racial slurs are still used in conversations about African Americans. A youth-oriented dance club (called J2) was forced to shut down a few years ago after residents constantly complained about “inappropriate behavior” from the patrons of the club (who were overwhelmingly black teenagers from Indianapolis). An African American family would undoubtedly feel very uncomfortable living in Mooresville.
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email 1/8/2008:
I moved to Mooresville from indianpolis in 1978, witnessed the racism for myself, blacks would not get served at McDonalds, and even witnessed orders being taken from customers behind them, until they just left, also experienced the shock when, a black woman approached me when i was on my lunch break as a freshman in highschool to ask where the nearest bank was, so i told her, and my fellow students were appalled i actually spoke to her, i was raised in a liberal houshold in indianapolis and didnt move there until i was 13. There are many many stories like this, i moved away, at the age of 18 (1985) so i am unaware of how it is currently. But i did know and work for known Klan members on the local farms. And actually the experience had an positive impact for me, because seeing the gross hatred and negativity, caused me to work especially hard to understand and learn about people of all cultures, and accept them. I decided i did not want to be one of those ugly hateful people I grew up around.
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The KKK was active in Mooresville, and one resident remembers that Mooresville had a sign, “No Niggers in the Valley,” and white gangs would run blacks out.