California’s Sundown Towns: The Shadow That Lingers

California’s reputation as a diverse state belies a painful history. From Hawthorne in Los Angeles County to San Leandro in the East Bay, dozens of cities once enforced “sundown” practices that explicitly barred Black residents and visitors after dark. Some posted signs warning them to leave before nightfall. Others relied on police intimidation, racial housing covenants, or mob violence to keep their cities all-white.

Although the laws and signs are gone, the legacy lingers. Census data show that most of these cities had virtually no Black residents when sundown practices ended. Today, some remain overwhelmingly white, while others have undergone dramatic demographic shifts. Black residents themselves describe the impact not as distant history, but as a lived experience that still shapes