After just one Black family moved into an apartment there in 1951, a mob of 4,000 white people attacked the entire building. The site is on Gila River Indian Tribal land. That said, there are places like Vidor Texas that still are, if unofficially. On Juneteenth, Valley residents share history of African - KNXV "Sundown suburbs" could be even larger, such as Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles; Levittown, on Long Island; and Warren, a Detroit suburb. The town of Duncan was actually established in 1883 with the coming of the railroad, but the early settlement here was started in the 1870s along the Gila River on an important stage & freight route. African Americans who lingered in sundown towns even during the daytime experienced harassment, threats, arrest, and beatings. Reply to this post. If you need to book a flight, search for the nearest airport to Duncan, SC. We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began. Duncan prospered until the Interstate Highway (I-10) was build further south. Wildlife viewing is good year-round but birding is best during the spring and fall migrations or the summer nesting season. Sundown Towns are all-white communities, neighborhoods, or counties that exclude Blacks and other minorities through the use of discriminatory laws, harassment, and threats or use of violence. Round Mountain BLM Rockhound Area. How do I convince my parents that I dont want to go camping? Clinton followed what he called the Cafeteria Golden Rule. His menu read, Pay What You Wish and Dine Free Unless Delighted.. Flagstaff, Route 66 and the Green Book - Discover Flagstaff One of the Green Books most unusual Route 66 sites was Murrays Dude Ranch. The website is also a very good source for knowledge about the region. 1 weather alerts 1 closings/delays Watch Now I may be the only black woman to have written a travel guide about Route 66. Encyclopdia Britannica (11th ed.). For black Americans who hit the road with a copy of the Green Book, a guide expressly created to keep them safe in a wildly perilous landscape, they surely already understood that the hopeful Mark Twain quote gracing almost every Green Book coverTravel is fatal to prejudicewas purely aspirational. If you were black and didnt have this information, how would you know where to go? But when a site is nurtured, like Cliftons, or commemorated, like the Threatt Filling Station, it can be an important connection to the past. The conflict with the Apaches lasted 26 years. Angie Crouch reports for NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Oct. 12, 2020. The community is home for members of both the Akimel Oodham (Pima) and the Pee-Posh (Maricopa) tribes. The Greenwood DistrictBlack Wall Streetwas eventually rebuilt; now the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park offers a space for healing, with a 25-foot memorial and three 16-foot granite sculptures honoring the dead. The sheriff asked, Wheres your chauffeur hat? Rons dad was ready; he had one in the car: Hanging right up in the back, Officer., Despite all the dangers, millions of black vacationers, like Rons family, did explore the countrymany relying on a unique travel guide, The Negro Motorist Green Book. From hot springs to sand dunes to rock fields, Safford brings together many features that make Arizona famous in one place, creating the perfect family vacation destination. As I paged through all the kitschy advertising of postwar suburban white families in Airstream Trailers and chrome-finned Chevys getting their kicks at campy Americana landmarks, I wondered: Where are the black people? Duncan is in the Gila River valley, four miles (6 km) west of the ArizonaNew Mexico border. The De Anza Motor Lodge on Route 66 in Albuquerque was built in 1939 and run by a prominent Zuni Indian trader; the motor lodge served black folks on a stretch of road where there were few options available to them. Remembering James W. Loewen Duncan Arizona Basic Information Type of Place Independent City or Town Metro Area Politics c. 1860? 20072023 Blackpast.org. Roper Lake State Park is located 6 miles south of Safford in Graham County in southeast Arizona and sits at the base of Mt. She had no answer, or maybe she just didnt know how to explain institutional racism to a 7-year-old. Duncan is in the Gila River valley, four miles (6km) west of the ArizonaNew Mexico border. In 1881 and 1882, when the Arizona Copper Company was formed at Clifton-Morenci, an influx of Scottish capital financed the building of a narrow-gauge railway from Clifton to Lordsburg, New Mexico, to meet the Southern Pacific line. It prospered right Sundown Towns Are Still A Problem For Black Drivers - BuzzFeed News By 1962, the Green Book reached a circulation of 2 million people. The site of contemporary Duncan had its origin sometime in the 1870s. The motor lodge was slated for demolition when the city purchased it in 2003. As Blacks began to migrate to other regions of the country, many predominantly white communities actively discouraged them from settling there. 76 miles to Charlotte, NC. More generally, sundown town is used to describe a place where the resident population was through deliberate action made to be overwhelmingly composed of white people. Sundown Towns are all-white communities, neighborhoods, or counties that exclude Blacks and other minorities through the use of discriminatory laws, harassment, and threats or use of violence. What makes Route 66 different is that the open-road branding associated with it celebrated a time when black Americans had to navigate racial violence and the Jim Crow policies that shut them out of businesses and recreational sites. If you haven't heard about 'sundowner' towns, it meant that non-white citizens must be out of town at sundown after 6 p.m. And that siren goes off at 6 p.m. to remind everyone of thatand that siren still goes off to . It was used so heavily that a 200-mile stretch of asphalt was thickened so that it could better handle military convoys. As of the 2020 census its population was 53,272. Segregation was in full force throughout the country. The society's first project was Spezia Square, placed on a historical corner located on the Old West Highway. Bank of Duncan - built in 1908 and located in 118 Main Street. [7], The territory that includes present-day New Mexico and Arizona was designated as "New Mexico. During the Red Summer of 1919, white mobs repeatedly targeted Black World War I veterans and servicemen. The most snowfall ever in Duncan was 15.0 inches or 0.38 metres during the record Western cold wave of January 1949. Sometimes entire counties went sundown, usually when their county seats did. The names posted are the original names used when the properties were first built. All Rights Reserved. It looks like a movie set. Duncan is in the Gila River valley, four miles (6 km) west of the Arizona-New Mexico border. 151 miles to Atlanta, GA. 155 miles to Greensboro, NC. Duncan, Arizona - A Small Town Full of Opportunity - YouTube Your donation is fully tax-deductible. Of course Route 66 wasnt any more racist than any other road in America at the time. The US average is 38 inches of rain per year. United States President James K. Polk declared war against Mexico in what became known as the MexicanAmerican War. In the early 20th century, Bisbee was a mining town . And although there were no formal segregation laws on the books in California, both Glendale and Culver City were sundown towns and the sun-kissed beaches of Santa Monica were segregated. Copying and downloading images from this site is strictly prohibited. Glendale is the first city in CA to apologize for its history as a Sundown Town. Call 911 for emergencies, Greenlee County Sheriff's Department DUNCAN, Ariz. - Evacuations are underway in a town in eastern Arizona after heavy rain flooded a river. Second, its on the Gila Rivers and near adjacent riparian areas for bird and wildlife observation. Duncan, AZ Map & Directions - MapQuest (1911). For many, the vulnerability of the road meant always having a plan, a cover story, or even a disguise. I said, Mom, isnt slavery over?, I said, Why are all of these black men in chains working in a field?. Businesses have earnest, hardworking signage. The most accessible viewing station, at Bonita Creek, is a lovely 55-mile drive from Duncan. Glendale Becomes First CA City to Recognize Sundown Town - Spectrum News 1 Route 66 started out in Illinois, a state that itself had nearly 150 sundown towns. Reynolds Farley is a research scientist at the Population Studies Center, the Dudley Duncan . Today, they still play a critical role in U.S. history, revealing the untold story of black travel. The Mountain Villa Motel in Kingman, Arizona (147 miles west of Flagstaff), was listed in the 1957 Green Book, and the White Rock Court appeared in the 1956 edition. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 696. The earliest record of legal restrictions on the nighttime activities of Black people dates back to the 1714 . Pistachio trees have a small presence in the Grand Canyon State, but the pecan business is developing quickly. Oklahoma theater stages play about the history of racist sundown towns The Gila River crested at a record-breaking 30.28 feet on Sunday night near Virden, New Mexico, a town just 7 miles from Duncan, Arizona. He heard reports of the legend of the Seven Golden Cities and believed they were located north of Mexico's western coast. In Nevada, Sundown Town History Has Cultural Impacts For Washoe Tribal Members. The state of Arizona gave us our own license plate, and we'd like you to take us for a ride. Down the street is the Ranch House Restaurant I remember, although the only particleboard walls Ive ever seen have now been painted a rust color. South of Phoenix, in Chandler, the Gila River Indian Community invites visitors to learn about the two tribesthe Akimel Ootham and the Pee Poshwho make up the community at the HuHugam Heritage Center, a museum filled with historical artifacts, rotating exhibitions and classes that educate the public about the . Sundown Towns Black People Should Be Aware Of - NewsOne Almost every level acre is under cultivation, thickets of cottonwood trees shelter old farmhouses and ranches, and cattle and horses seem to outnumber people. Town of Duncan - A growing community, with old generations and new ones Tempe Arizona was one as well, but has been integrated since the 60s. Cliff dwellers, conquistadors, Apache warriors, mountain men, westering immigrants each in their time has traveled its banks. Town of Duncan. Knowing better than to say it was his, Rons father pretended to be a chauffeur. The society has taken it upon themselves the task of restoring many of them. Almost every level acre is under cultivation, thickets of cottonwood trees shelter old farmhouses and ranches, and cattle and horses seem to outnumber people. Its all still true. Today, Route 66 has surrendered to a series of bypasses, causeways, and highways, but the path it traced is still troubled: American Owned signs line the old Route 66; they are code for Not Owned by Immigrants. In Noel, Missouri, Somali immigrants say they are not welcome at Kathys Kountry Kitchen, where even now servers wear T-shirts reading, I got caught eating at the KKK. Stories like these are why the rosy hue of Route 66 nostalgia leaves a bitter chill in the souls of black people. Hosted by Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS, 39174 and facilitated by Pantheon. In response, Victor H. Green, a postal worker from Harlem, compiled the Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide to accommodations that served Black travelers. In the Pulitzer Prizewinning The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of Americas Great Migration, the writer Isabel Wilkerson recounts Dr. Robert Fosters harrowing journey in the West, where he would fall asleep at the wheel from exhaustion simply because he had been turned away from every motel he stopped at for being black. The Duncan Valley Rural Fire District declared the "mass evacuation of flood prone areas in Duncan" early Monday, listing more than a dozen streets in the 712-person town as subject to the order . This 2,440-mile Road of Dreams speckled with romantic and unconventional attractions symbolized a pathway to easier times. 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Apart from oral histories, there are often few archival records that describe precisely how sundown towns excluded Blacks. Researched, written and directed by esteemed Oklahoma storyteller DWe William s, the new play about a family's sundown town experience will debut at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, June 9-11, at the Studio of the Sooner Theatre in downtown Norman. Copyright 2023 Arizona Department of Transportation, State of Arizona. In Tulsa, for example, travelers can now visit the Greenwood Cultural Center to learn about the Tulsa Race Riot. But it was also the home of U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen, whose support helped ensure the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Duncan is at the juncture of the Gila River and the Arizona-New Mexico state border. 928-381-1881 Males had a median income of $32,232 versus $18,333 for females. Ive estimated that nearly 75 percent of Green Book sites have been demolished or radically modified, and the majority that remain have fallen into disrepair, so its crucial to preserve whatever sites are left. July 3, 1919: The Battle of Brewery Gulch - Zinn Education Project Thus the new settlement was named Purdy. Safford, Arizona gets 10 inches of rain, on average, per year. It is an entire community (or even county) that for decades was "all white" on purpose. Minden's "sundowner" siren under scrutiny again Willcox is home to the Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Chiricahua Regional Museum and Research Center, and the Rex Allen Museum. A Brief History - Town of Duncan On July 3, 1919, active members of the Army's segregated 10th Cavalry Regiment ("Buffalo Soldiers") were in Bisbee, Arizona, to participate in the town's Independence Day parade. Black people who were caught in these sundown towns often faced threats of violence if they hadn't made their way to the Detroit border by sundown. For much of the 20th century, thousands of all-white American towns forbade Black people from . My neighbor ladies and I walk every day, she says. Lying five miles from the New Mexico border, in the deep southeastern corner of Greenlee County, Duncan seems a world away from the wild mountains surrounding it. Called Purdy in the Post Office register of 1883, it was founded by Messrs. Purdy and Bachelor as a way station on an ore haulage line that linked the railhead in Clifton with Silver City, New Mexico. [10][2][4][9], The California volunteers pursuing the Apaches in 185, discovered the first minerals in the Greenlee area. Excellent pizza and calzones. Also included are photographs of the antique town clock and the 1950 Chevrolet 6400 2-ton fire truck once used in Duncan. Arizona communities along the Gila grew up around stage and freight stations and military posts that began to bloom in the valley as settlers arrived and battled hostile natives. The road certainly did not mean freedom for everyone, and it bore witness to some of the nations worst acts of racial terrorism. The other room of Hildas kingdom is a diner. The town and area are primarily populated by ranchers and miners (especially from the Freeport-McMoran copper mines in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico). If it does, I hope they appreciate it. A rustic service station with a genuinely old truck would invite them to clamber over it until their mothers call them home to supper. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 713. Uncovering the distribution of 'sundown towns' - Mapbox In 1921, the Tulsa Race Riot erupted in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Evacuations ordered, emergency declared in eastern Arizona floods The name derives from the posted and verbal warnings issued to Blacks that although they might be allowed to work or travel in a community during the daytime, they must leave by sundown. In 1930, 44 out of the 89 counties that lined Route 66 were all-white communities known as sundown townsplaces that banned black people from entering city limits after dark. In 1930, the black columnist George Schuyler wrote, Blacks who drove expensive cars offended white sensibilities, and some black people kept to older models so as not to give the dangerous impression of being above themselves., In the 1950s, my stepfather, Ron, experienced this firsthand as a child. There were 384 housing units at an average density of 150.2/sqmi (58.0/km2). And on day three, we passed the Civil Rights Act and changed all the laws. Problem solved. (Today, nothing remains of Grahams, except a tourist cabin that an area law firm uses as its storage shed.). Ed Gordon discusses the historical significance of so-called "sundown towns," some of which are now promoting inclusiveness. "Arizona is an ideal place for developing heat- and drought- tolerant varieties because of its high daily maximum temperature and low rainfall from late spring to early fall when rice can be planted.". Reading Too Much Political News Is Bad for Your Well-Being. Alot of small Arizona towns have qualities of bygone years: frontier days, Victorian homes. Duncan might attract people who now realize they can work remotely from anywhere. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site was created by Matt Cheney, revised by OddBird, copyrighted by James W. Loewen and heirs (Nick Loewen), and is maintained by Phil Huckelberry and Stephen Berrey. For instance, the Ku Klux Klan ran Fantastic Caverns, a popular tourist site near Springfield. Carol McGrath, a Black woman, has lived in Glendale for 17 years and experienced racism as recently as two years ago. He remembers Martinsville, Indiana as an unfriendly place. Hover over the pictures in the slideshow above to see the captions. Although it is difficult to make an accurate count, historians estimate there were up to 10,000 sundown towns in the United States between 1890 and 1960, mostly in the Mid-West and West. African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, Racial Conflict - Segregation/Integration, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/the-roots-of-route-66/506255/, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/sundown-towns-3658/, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. Duncan (zip 85534)s population is 2,655 people.
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