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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.

Sand Mountain

Alabama

Basic Information

Type of Place
Subregion
Metro Area
Politics c. 1860?
Unions, Organized Labor?

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Surely
Was there an ordinance?
Don't Know
Sign?
Yes, Strong Oral Tradition
Year of Greatest Interest
Still Sundown?
Don’t Know

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
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Unknown

Main Ethnic Group(s)

  • Unknown

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black

Comments

“When I taught in northeast Alabama, the Sand
Mountain area (Boaz, Albertville, etc.) was known for
excluding blacks historically. As one old-timer told
one of my students in an interview on the [Great]
Depression and race relations, ‘We didn’t have any
racial problems back then. As long as they were off
the mountain by sundown, there weren’t any
problems.'”

“The natives boast of signs reading: ‘Nigger – don’t
let the sun go down on your head.'”

“There are still signs up in parts of Sand Mountain
that say, ‘Nigger don’t let the sun fall on your black
ass here.'”
-email in June 2000