Research Symposium

BIO

I am Joe Diaz, a sophomore political science major at Florida State. This year I worked with Brendan Lantz and Jack Mills to research the significance of historical sundown towns in the modern day. I have previous experience working at a law firm in my hometown Tampa, Florida and hope to use my degree to go to law school and work as an attorney.

A Narrowed Focus on Sundown America: Making Sense of Modern Racism in Historical Sundown Towns Across Four States

Abstract

There is a growing empirical interest in sundown towns today. Broadly, sundown towns were communities that historically excluded many non-white populations, most often Black populations, from residing in or even entering such towns. Although most existing scholarship often treats these racialized communities as relics of the past, emerging evidence suggests that many historical sundown towns continue to sustain practices of racial exclusion and violence. Understanding why these patterns persist is critical, as it directly affects the safety, mobility and quality of life of minority populations living in or near these communities allowing for more informed and targeted approaches to civil rights policy and community intervention.

Drawing from ongoing research conducted by a Florida State University research team, this project examines hundreds of publicly available reports of racial violence, discrimination, and segregation occurring between 2000 and 2026 in historically identified sundown towns across four states: California, Colorado, New York, and Kentucky. Data was collected through systematic web-based research, drawing from local and national news coverage, public records, demographic data, and community reported incidents. Each report was categorized using a two-stage qualitative content analysis, first identifying individual incidents and then classifying them thematically by racial violence, segregation, or racial non-violent prejudice. Across all four states, we documented recurring patterns of institutional discrimination operating through schools, police departments, and local governments. These findings challenge the prevailing narrative of sundown towns as historical relics of the past instead positioning them as ongoing sites of racial governance with significant implications for modern policy and scholarship.

Keywords: History, Sundown Town, Discrimination