The Hidden Shame Of The Show-Me State: 7 Infamous Sundown Towns In Missouri And Their Lasting Legacy

Missouri’s history of racial exclusion is a dark chapter often overlooked, yet its effects continue to shape the state's demographics and economic landscape today. For decades, hundreds of communities across the "Show-Me State" operated as "sundown towns," municipalities that enforced a strict, often violent, policy of racial segregation, ensuring that non-white residents—primarily African Americans—were not allowed to live there, or even remain after dark. This systemic practice, which flourished between 1890 and 1968, was a powerful tool of the Jim Crow era, driving the Great Migration north and west while simultaneously creating all-white enclaves that enjoyed disproportionate access to wealth and resources. As of late 2025, a growing body of academic research and legislative action is finally bringing this history to light, forcing a confrontation with the deep-seated roots of contemporary inequality. Recent efforts to address racially restrictive covenants, the legal mechanism of segregation, highlight the enduring connection between historical exclusion and modern disparities in housing, wealth, and education across Missouri.

The Architecture of Exclusion: How Sundown Towns Were Built

The phenomenon of the sundown town was not a secret; it was a proud, often advertised, form of racial cleansing that transcended the traditional North-South divide. Missouri, a border state with a complex history of slavery and Civil War loyalties, became a hotbed for these exclusionary practices.

The Role of Violence and Local Law Enforcement

Unlike the Deep South, where racial segregation was often codified by state-level Jim Crow laws, sundown towns in states like Missouri were frequently established through community violence, intimidation, and local ordinances. The expulsion of Black residents often followed a race riot, a lynching, or a targeted act of terror, sending a clear, brutal message to the entire non-white population. * The Monett, Missouri Riot (1894): This event is a stark example of a town turning "sundown." Following a dispute, a white mob drove out the town's entire Black population, cementing Monett’s identity as an all-white community for generations. * Pierce City, Missouri (1901): Similar to Monett, a white riot in Pierce City resulted in the complete expulsion of its African American residents, fundamentally altering the demographic makeup of Lawrence County. * Ste. Genevieve (1930): The Ozarks region, in particular, saw several such expulsions, including the driving out of African Americans from Ste. Genevieve, further illustrating the widespread nature of this practice across the state. These acts were often tacitly, or overtly, supported by local law enforcement and business leaders, ensuring the permanence of the exclusion.

Racially Restrictive Covenants and Redlining

Beyond outright violence, the legal and financial mechanisms of segregation solidified the all-white status of many Missouri communities, especially in the metropolitan areas of St. Louis and Kansas City. Racially restrictive covenants were clauses written into property deeds that legally forbade the sale, lease, or occupation of land by non-white people. In the early 20th century, St. Louis and Kansas City were national leaders in the use of these covenants, effectively creating segregated neighborhoods and entire suburbs. The practice of Redlining, where federal housing agencies and banks deemed Black neighborhoods "hazardous" for investment, further starved these areas of capital, while simultaneously funding new, all-white suburban developments. This combination of covenants and redlining created a dual housing market that prevented Black families from building generational wealth through homeownership, a central pillar of the American Dream.

7 Missouri Communities Shaped by Racial Exclusion

Dr. James W. Loewen, the renowned sociologist and author of *Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism*, documented hundreds of towns across Missouri that fit the exclusionary criteria. His research highlights how this history is not merely a footnote but a central driver of modern racial disparities. Here are seven significant Missouri communities linked to the history of sundown towns or systemic exclusion: 1. Monett (Barry/Lawrence County): Infamous for the 1894 riot that violently expelled its Black population, it remained an overwhelmingly white town for over a century. 2. Pierce City (Lawrence County): The site of a major race riot in 1901, which resulted in the complete removal of African American residents. 3. Ferguson (St. Louis County): While not a classic small-town sundown community, Ferguson's history is deeply entangled with exclusionary practices. It was once a sundown town that actively blocked Black residents from moving in, setting the stage for the hyper-segregation of St. Louis County that contributed to the tensions leading to the 2014 unrest. 4. Kinloch (St. Louis County): A critical counterpoint, Kinloch was incorporated in 1948 as the first Black city in Missouri. Its very existence was a response to the surrounding white-majority towns and suburbs that practiced exclusion, and it immediately faced opposition from white residents in neighboring areas. 5. Lamar (Barton County): Listed in historical records as a confirmed sundown town. 6. Monroe City (Monroe County): Another community documented as having practiced racial exclusion. 7. Doniphan (Ripley County): Identified as a municipality with a history of sundown practices. The history of these towns illustrates a pattern: the deliberate creation of all-white spaces that concentrated resources and power, directly leading to the economic and social marginalization of Black communities elsewhere.

The Enduring Legacy: Contemporary Inequality in Missouri

The history of sundown towns is not a distant memory; it is a foundational element of contemporary black–white economic inequality in Missouri. The exclusionary policies of the past set in motion a feedback loop that continues to affect housing, wealth, and opportunity today.

The Wealth Gap and Housing Equity

The most devastating effect of sundown towns and restrictive covenants was their impact on generational wealth. When Black families were barred from owning property in desirable, appreciating neighborhoods for over half a century (roughly 1890-1968), they were locked out of the primary mechanism for middle-class wealth creation in America. * Segregation's Persistence: Even though the Supreme Court outlawed racially restrictive covenants in the 1948 *Shelley v. Kraemer* case (which originated in St. Louis), and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 banned housing discrimination, the demographic patterns established by these policies remain stubbornly in place. * New Legislation: In a significant, recent development, new Missouri legislation now mandates the removal of discriminatory language from property deeds. While this does not undo the economic damage, it is a crucial step in confronting and symbolically cleansing the legal documents that upheld segregation.

The Impact on Education and Public Resources

The geographic segregation enforced by sundown policies created stark disparities in public resources. Wealthier, historically all-white school districts, often in the former sundown suburbs of St. Louis County and Kansas City, benefit from higher property tax bases, leading to better-funded schools and services. Conversely, historically Black and segregated areas, like the communities surrounding Jennings, Missouri, often face underfunded schools and a lack of investment. This historical context explains much of the modern racial and economic divide in Missouri. The ideological benefits of exclusion, including entrenched antiblack attitudes and the economic benefits of resource concentration, continue to contribute to the racial wealth gap. Recognizing the history of sundown towns is the first, necessary step toward true racial reconciliation and reparative planning in the Show-Me State.