'Sundown Towns' discussion TODAY
The online book club is happening now at this thread.
Did you know that thousands of U.S. communities still live with the legacy of being "sundown towns" - places where blacks or other people of color could not linger after sunset? Join us at 1 p.m. Eastern this Wednesday, July 23, as James W. Loewen - author of Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism - discusses his groundbreaking book and the way many communities still struggle today with their decades of "whites only" history. Most important, learn what we can do to help publicize, challenge, and overcome the lingering effects of this largely hidden part of our nation's history.
Today's water cooler will start at 1 p.m. Eastern. Look for a new post then that says "Welcome to the water cooler."
If you haven't had a chance to read the book but would like to do some background reading before tomorrow's event, here's a review from the Washington Post Book World:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/20/AR2005102001715.html
and a recent article from the World magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association:
http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/50594.shtml
See you here at DemSpace from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern on July 23.
Posted by: Julie Fanselow | July 22, 2008 at 02:49 PM
I look forward to this afternoon's discussion and hope it will inspire some folks to DO something about a sundown town.
Posted by: Jim Loewen | July 23, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Hm. Julie, I have 1:04PM but my "refresh" button does not bring up anything new.
Posted by: Jim Loewen | July 23, 2008 at 01:02 PM
I have read some from your book, Jim, and find it hard to put down. It's quite provocative! This is the first I've ever learned about sundown towns and am eager to learn more. Thank you.
Posted by: Nick Connell | July 23, 2008 at 01:04 PM
I forgot to mention that I serve the community assistance efforts of Everyday Democracy.
Posted by: Nick Connell | July 23, 2008 at 01:05 PM
Sorry Nick and Jim, I had a slight technical snafu that delayed the start of the new thread. It's up now and Jim is answering questions here:
http://democracyspace.typepad.com/democracyspaceorg/2008/07/welcome-to-the.html
I'll be closing comments on this thread.
Posted by: Julie Fanselow | July 23, 2008 at 01:09 PM