SUNDOWN TOWNS The Hidden Dimension of American Racism

The term "sundown towns" refers to areas in the U.S. that excluded minorities, mainly African-Americans. Signs on roads entering such places read DON'T BE SEEN HERE AFTER DARK. By taking personal histories, the author documents hundreds of these small cities, which contributed to the perpetuation of racism throughout the twentieth century. Supplied with little more than tedious data and statistics, narrator Norman Dietz has scant opportunity to heighten listeners' interest with anything other than modulation of his tone and word emphasis. His slow, distinct speech makes the presentation easy to understand, but the history of residential segregation repeated a thousand different ways doesn't deserve 26 hours to tell. The technical contexts may serve social scientists, but few general readers will tolerate such excess. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2008]