This story was published in print in October 2023.
Through the late 1800s and beyond, many communities in the Northeast and Midwest U.S., including some in Montgomery County, employed manipulative discriminatory tactics to enforce racial segregation. From sundown laws to prejudiced housing contracts, these policies robbed Black families of their place in communities across the nation as well as the opportunity to create intergenerational wealth.
Following the end of Reconstruction in 1877, “sundown towns” became a phenomenon across the U.S. as a way for communities to retain a white-only population. Predominantly white areas throughout the country used discriminatory laws, intimidation and violence to prevent minority groups, particularly Black families, from moving into their neighborhoods…