tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7892344170791364530.post1295020309112253083..comments2023-10-25T05:54:40.951-04:00Comments on The Writing Life x3: Do You Live in a Sundown Town?Patrick Gabridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497038051641691987noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7892344170791364530.post-77824490613959341112007-08-20T10:19:00.000-04:002007-08-20T10:19:00.000-04:00Thanks for commenting, Angelique. You should defi...Thanks for commenting, Angelique. You should definitely check out Jim Loewen's web site--he'd be interested to hear from you. In the book, he mentions Arcola a number of times. He also talks about running into the same thing that you did, that it's often hard to find the "official" record of sundown policies, since they were usually unwritten codes, enforced by police or even average citizens. This makes it necessary to rely a lot on oral history, as you've done.Patrick Gabridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11497038051641691987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7892344170791364530.post-7183429580640150072007-08-19T23:28:00.000-04:002007-08-19T23:28:00.000-04:00Hi, Patrick. I grew up in Arcola and wrote a book ...Hi, Patrick. I grew up in Arcola and wrote a book about its history. I had always heard the rumor too, but found no "official" evidence of it. There were articles in the paper that made it clear that blacks could not rent lodging, not even fairly famous "players" who performed at the Opera House. They usually left town on the last train out the evening of their performance. That may have contributed to the rumors. One newspaper article from the early 1900s accused Tuscoleans of being "n***** lovers" because they allowed blacks to stay overnight in town, which is evidence to me of the practice of Arcoleans. Imagine printing such in the newspaper! You had to be pretty sure that you had wide support. There are people still alive in Arcola who remember when black broomcorn johnnies came to work in town and what trouble that caused for farmers who hired them. One woman remembers being harrassed because her mother cooked for the hands her father hired. Anyway, there is no reason not to believe that Arcola was quite racist.paperbattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08508747697664669671noreply@blogger.com