(Sorry in advance for the long comment.) I'll pick up Driven Out. I picked up a pack of "special reports" from Arizona's State Parks and a couple of them concern Chinese immigrants working on the railroad.
I'd like to see that times/places analysis because I want to do a times/places analysis for Portland. My mom told me my whole life that "evil racist realtors" were responsible for selling houses in only one section of the city to African Americans. White? Settle anywhere. Black? North Portland. While I was reading the Sundtown Towns introduction (http://www.uvm.edu/~jloewen/content/sundown-introduction.pdf) (PDF), I realized it wasn't just "the realtors" in doing it out of their own initiative but probably because Portland, like other bigger cities, couldn't keep blacks out. We're the biggest port on the Willamette River.
At some point, there had to have been directions given or rules put in place to restrict blacks from other areas of the city. Or incidents that make it clear. I'm gonna go looking because I grew up thinking "black people just want to hang out with other black people" because the attitudes of white adults seemed to be "well, if they wanted to move, they would, we're all enlightened liberals here in the green PacNW" ... which I know now is bullshit. So from what I've seen of well-meaning liberals, Sundown Towns make perfect sense to me.
Oregon history is so fucking depressing but, luckily, we had Racefail this year and it woke me up. You were a big part of that. Thanks again. :) Would you be interested in anything I dig up? Do you have any other particular references or recommendations?
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-04-17 11:08 pm (UTC)I'd like to see that times/places analysis because I want to do a times/places analysis for Portland. My mom told me my whole life that "evil racist realtors" were responsible for selling houses in only one section of the city to African Americans. White? Settle anywhere. Black? North Portland. While I was reading the Sundtown Towns introduction (http://www.uvm.edu/~jloewen/content/sundown-introduction.pdf) (PDF), I realized it wasn't just "the realtors" in doing it out of their own initiative but probably because Portland, like other bigger cities, couldn't keep blacks out. We're the biggest port on the Willamette River.
At some point, there had to have been directions given or rules put in place to restrict blacks from other areas of the city. Or incidents that make it clear. I'm gonna go looking because I grew up thinking "black people just want to hang out with other black people" because the attitudes of white adults seemed to be "well, if they wanted to move, they would, we're all enlightened liberals here in the green PacNW" ... which I know now is bullshit. So from what I've seen of well-meaning liberals, Sundown Towns make perfect sense to me.
Oregon history is so fucking depressing but, luckily, we had Racefail this year and it woke me up. You were a big part of that. Thanks again. :) Would you be interested in anything I dig up? Do you have any other particular references or recommendations?