The Most Notorious Sundown Town Of Them All: Anna, Illinois 4K. 

RU-vid is great...the timestamps are a nice feature too! Thanks. ... channel looks really good.

Thanks for the kind words, Doug!

Grew up there. Ran far far away 20 years ago. Union co. IL is still a very racist stuck in 1950's ways.

This whers they kilt Jelani Day a few months ago

@@ChrisHarden Pekin Illinois near Peoria maybe the worst in Illinois

are you black?

Sheriff Brian Watkins is a great man!

Wow. Blessings to him for being a blessing to The Most Highs people.

Are you white? No disrespect

God was surely with u. Thank u Jesus!

smart man 😭✊️

Smart. I trust no one. You prob would be on the news

They couldn't help you though especially in sundown towns you were smart for not going back even if you have some friends there since you're not friends with everyone there.

Good choice, you would've never returned back home.

My wife was raised and went to school there. she told me that Anna stood for what you'd said.pretty sad.

Yes they did

@@dominicandream4898 facts

I would’ve left too. Maybe would’ve told him some not so nice things on the way out. I’m speechless.

I am so sorry that happened to you. Please know that not everyone feels that way. I am ashamed for the ignorance and hate that you were shown.

@Tim Cahill....the key word in your comment is [ older ] gentleman. He was probably younger during the riots in southern Illinois. So was I, but do not have the same opinion. Please, don't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch. We are all equal.

@@ChrisHarden Please don't judge us ...he's one. Anna is a friendly town. We have residents from all walks of life. Much respect from Southern Illinois

My Lord, when did this happen?

That’s wild that they profiled you often enough to get to know you. Sounds like a Dave Chappell sketch or something

I'm sorry you had to deal with that. I used to live in southern Illinois and it sucks

you'll have that

Should of sued him for a illegal stop

The same cop pulled you over everyday? Did he give you a ticket or warning every time that he pulled you over everyday? Do you have any proof that you were pulled over every single time that you passed through this town? Did this cop learn your schedule just so he could pull you over every single day? Did you start leaving early for work in order to accommodate extra time for your daily police stop? Everyday? That's a very believable story.

I work with a guy from Anna. After I watched this video I asked him about it. He said it's not as bad as it used to be. If Iron Kettle was still there I would like to take my girlfriend there, but not after I saw this video.

Wow.

And we should believe you?

@@charlessedlacek5754 - Do you have an opposing viewpoint? Let’s hear it.

Don't be embarrassed. Take the past with humility and grace. Never forget the chapters of our lives, even the pages we think are dark and violent. Certainly it isn't good the ignorance was rampant and you were not at fault swept in the gloom. Yet it can become a fault for having the pride to say I'm far better than those. . .egos simply can get the better of us quickly and we then become no better than what we claim to be above.

Kinda like white folks in the inner city

If dialogue hasn't worked thus YET... it'll never work. No talking. It's already prophesied their will be war and bloodshed ...as it's always been inorded for another to take over or rule over the majority. Which is going to be happening very soon, if you haven't noticed the days and times were in. ⌛

Cairo used to be like some Jim Crow town in Mississippi. Then about 1969, the blacks got fed up with it and fought back. The racist whites even started their own school Camelot High, so their kids wouldn't have to go to school with black kids. Now all the white people are gone. Bye Felicia 👋!

Wow, these personal stories are always great to read and hear. Thanks for sharing.

I was born in cairo

Sad isnt it

If she was white she knew

Sad to say I’m 55 years old and probably learned of sundown towns only a few years ago 😔 Our education systems do not teach us the truth, which keeps us ignorant, the opposite of what it is intended to do… We can’t learn from a history that is kept from us 💔

Tbh I just found out about sundown towns on Reddit today, so here I am now investigating on RU-vid. Lol Lived in California my whole life so I feel like I've been kinda sheltered from the reality of the type of in-your-face racism that exists in other states.

She's LIE'N to YOU..All racist WHITE supremacists in WHITE America knows about SUN DOWN TOWNS..And THATS a FACT!

See laws that effect colors

I know that feeling. I lived in Birmingham and my best friend was black. We didn't see white & black, just people. His family treated me like family.

It is a shame. My mom taught us (mostly by example) to be respectful everyone. White, Black, Hispanic, etc, didn't matter.

You were truly blessed. That’s the way it should be. My liberal parents wouldn’t allow me to have my best friend in grade school spend the night. Here was their answer. What would the neighbors think? Don’t like making anything political because it’s on both sides. With that being said everybody knows Illinois history. Read about Southern Illinois KKK and highly recommend Bloody Williamson book.

@@sealyoness Key word: Example! People complain about not enough whoopings and beat downs today, but examples are far more important. Adults today are not enough of example regardless of age.

Facts, people think the south is racist (I'm in FL) but I never experienced such blatant racism until I went to Chicago.

I'm an hour south of Anna and never knew about this. Never witness blatant racism in real life until I went north towards chicago and up to Michigan

@@JoeyLegendd You must have went thru Cicero. You won't necessarily experience it directly in the city of Chicago

@@Chevyboiz nah man it was in the city of Chicago. The trains, the stores.

@@JoeyLegendd Oh so black folks don't operate the liquor stores no more in Chicago?? Wow

Thanks for the kind words!

sad stuff :(

I bet it was named after Santa Anna he would burn 🔥 White Texan settlements.

@@AK47_414 But..It Is THE [TRUTH]

This is what kids need to be learning abt in school.

Oh shit I was from goreville moved away asap to Missouri

i love this comment

Thank you for saying that coolhand501. Changing things like names solves very little. We need to learn from the good and the bad from the past. Avoiding controversies makes people weak and breeds bad ideas.

@@_HellYeah ehhhhh considering this acronym I’ve been hearing if it was named solely on the premise of racism I don’t see why it couldn’t be changed...especially if it’s not racist anymore (which we know it is)

@@mimi7574 Go back and watch the video again. The town is named after a woman named Anna. In order to claim that it is still racist you would need to go over there and prove that and not just speculate. We as a people need to stop lumping things together and assigning some sort of attitude or behavior to it.

@@_HellYeah I said, which we know it still is because there’s a database of sundown towns accessible to the public and this database gets updated when incidents occur and when I clicked on Anna the last incident was someone being advised not to stay in 2014 and when they didn’t know why the acronym was said. It can be argued that we don’t know the validity of the claim or that 2014 was a while ago but racist ideology doesn’t just disappear. Even when suppressed, there’s people in that same town teaching it to their kids. To say that it’s not when we know racism has really been apparent lately would be naive. I saw the video title then looked at the database before watching, btw

Good thought. Thanks for the comment.

Hate towards thugs?

@@jaxxone4907 yall the last ones to call anybody thug

@@StlJvl say that again!!

@@jaxxone4907 bully behind a keyboard and wouldn’t know what to do in a room full of thugs.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Biden prices

Umm that's because you are Asian. Try being me. A black man

So what’s your point? You like small white racist towns?

It's in Southern Illinois

Thank you!

There are quite a few towns in southern Illinois that are still living in the past.And need I say most Trump support in Illinois comes from down there.

@@panchog2552 Almost the whole state is conservative other than a few counties in the north.

Cicero, and oak park used to be sundown towns too.

Be careful and be safe

Not worth the risk... they still the way they were in the past ,don't let tranquility fool you... once someone is spotted the whole town knows, they use technology, cell phones, I've traveled through them towns and I've seen the residents picking throughout their windows, when you think nobody is watching you there's when you're wrong...leaving the past behind "my eye"

Glad you didn't have any troubles in Anna. According to Wikipedia, Anna was 1 percent Black/African American in 2010. Hopefully this means that there is now some racial harmony in Anna.

@@jomarz1828 this comment need more view. That's why you won't get it

@@jomarz1828 experienced the same,, nothing has changed it just got more sophisticated, your employees, employers, churches, schools, and regularly frequented establishment have been doing the same for a very long time.

I dislike living in small towns for the exact reason that you mentioned! I know that feeling quite well. Hope things turn out well for you in Vegas. About the mental institution, yeah, I messed up on not including that one.

Thank you!

I want a lieutenant now, SAR-G'NT!

you better figure it out!

Racists.

Isn’t That Just Crazy! Sorta Ike how illegal drugs 💊💊💉🥄💦🔥🥴🤤😵 just appeared🇺🇸big cities..🤔💭❓

@@victordejung5675 This world is bad regardless, whether it’s a sundown town or drug infested town, hard to find anything good, honest, or safe these days!

It doesn't exist officially as in the past. Today some people from all backgrounds just gravitate to others like themselves - appearance, interests, socio-economic status, etc. Have you ever been the only one in a group with a different race/culture and socio-economic status? The only one?

Now you know where to move, a nice sundown town. No gangs, crime, or rape. Just hard working white people.

​@@33Donner77 the thing is that sundown town will literally unalive, attack, etc. Outsiders. Its pure degeneracy and evil.

Hell yea

@@BigSoulja69 .......NO H8

@Daily .......NO H8

@Maggot "Shallow minded"

@Maggot ill deal with not having clean hands if it meant my future kids didnt have to deal wit racism tbh

Peace walls

Sir u r more then welcome to come and visit we r a beautiful little town and it has changed

@@katherinevandervort6402 What a lovely, kind and caring thing to say. Should I be lucky enough to visit Illinois, and that is a state I have always wanted to visit! It would be an honour to meet and learn more.

@@cocteaut I have relatives that live in Ireland and going to the emerald isles would be a dream

@@katherinevandervort6402 I really hope you get a chance to visit 'our wee place' as we say! The better half and I both did the dna thing, I'm adopted, so it was interesting to see the majority of my living blood kin residing in Canada and the US. Two of my sisters live in British Columbia, got to attend one of the weddings, it was a really special and emotional visit. Also have family in Indiana, New York state, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, Washington state and more (no Illinois yet though!)

I'm still try'n to find that dam ...

@@17penobscot lol, me too !

@@17penobscot The dam is actually in North Carolina

Did anything happen, or did locals help you?

It’s nice here, but the people are whack.

@Maggot I mean if You like being isolated go for it. 👍🏼

@Maggot I literally can't change that. Most everyone in my class is a POS, not to mention all the idiots who I have to deal with on a daily basis.

i'm sure [conservative] white people

White people....???

By the ash tree by Slow Meadow

I’m in Illinois too, near the city. I went to the bar and there were proud boys there, it’s not just in the south.

Its not like everyone is saying Its definitely not a ghetto. No gangs. Or riots.Just good country folk not looking for trouble Why is that so wrong? I do y go to areas were I do y fit on. So why can't prove live like they want. There not out victimizing people.

Why be upset with people Just being who they are. O have to much to worry about in my own life. I do have time look for fault.

@@novapier7260 and it’s not just white areas. There are areas where white people should not be found.

Your not dumb. Just want you to know that some people want people and the world should live.think.breath.smell look for dirt. That is what the left democratic party is looking for. They want to be victims and people that don't think as they do ate victimizers.

you people ruined Peoria

Im from Peoria I also never heard of Anna certainly wouldn’t ever go there

@@richardvoncline😂😂😂😂 it’s 2023 baby get over it

@@richardvonclineGROW UP!!

@@tyleashia714Thank you for that response!

It’s also ungodly. There are a lot of folks I fear for who think they are Christian but are not.

Is it bad to assume that most of the south racist?

@@jasonmathieu4850 These days I think you find more racism in the northern states. It's been my experience that different races coexist pretty well in the south.

@@jasonmathieu4850 That's a great assumption, but to add to it, the entire country is racist. It's just more polite and underneath the surface in the North.

Have they changed? Sundown towns still exist in 2022. Let that sink in.

@@taymangaming it jus saying it is racist without saying tho..... Don't fall for that b.s

@@taymangaming Livonia Mi is still a sun down town.

We can blame the Greed Monsters for this outcome. The offshoring continues throughout many industries today, including my own employer (who just laid off a lot of knowledgeable, hard-working people in tech jobs, only to open those positions up again halfway around the world where workers make Far Less pay). This is how Millionaires becomes Billionaires, and that's ALL that matters to the Powers That Be. But we truly Don't need more Billionaires. It's actually the Last thing we need, as a society, unless our own disenfranchisement is the goal. The perks of the past (like pensions, or successful one-income family units) no longer exist for most of the middle class, which has shrunk considerably as more people slid into poverty. Heck, our Social Security funds aren't even safe from political pillaging anymore (SS was once a separate, protected fund, but is increasingly open to raiding, to pay off govt debt). The wages of the middle class have inched up only 10% in terms of buying power, over the past 4+ decades. In that same time, top exec pay has grown by over 970%. These changes weren't accidental. They allowed the Greed Monsters to BUY our political system, making it work Only for themselves. That's why today most of us still pay taxes, while the richest find loopholes & off-shore accounts, shifting their burden to our shoulders. They even erased the Fairness Doctrine, replacing it with...nothing but a "Fake News!" channel that could not have been launched if such a protective regulation was still in place. How ironic that this channel blares that phrase constantly. It's pure projection. Changes in Education also reveal the plan. The cost of a 4-year, in-state degree has risen over 1,200% since 1980, on average. And the college loan system has been thoroughly corrupted, making such loans a trap that will prevent much of today's younger generations from ever being able to afford a home purchase (keeping them locked into paying rent, in a market where corporations have scooped up as many homes as they could). Look at how the well-paid shills on that afirementioned TV "news" show try to undermine public ed, promoting efforts to funnel $$ from public schools to support private schools instead... using OUR tax dollars to save the rich even more on the cost of an education option that Isn't an option for most citizens. The Filthiest of the Rich Still want slaves, and are determined to get them. They don't care what it does to our nation, b/c they frankly don't believe in Democracy. They want serfs, instead, forever indebted to them & filling their coffers. Certain "news" segments have gone so far as to declare that a college education "isn't worth the cost" anymore. It's certainly unaffordable (& made so on purpose), yes. But it remains a crucial element for most members of our society, to be able to earn more than just a living-paycheck-to-paycheck wage. The rich know that. They're simply making sure their own precious scions don't have as much competition in gaining the finer things in Life, to which they feel Entitled. It's revolting, and Evil. Wonder why other things most Americans once enjoyed, like traveling, have become so very expensive? Or why prices continue to rise, even for products made by companies that enjoyed "banner years" during the pandemic? Price-gouging is a profitable way for rich schmucks to cement their Power by bleeding the rest of us dry. We used to have more regulations in place to prevent things like business monopolies, but then the folks who envision themselves as Barons fooled simple minds into seeing such safety measures as "bad for business" when they were only bad for Billionaires. Having guardrails to prevent abuse is actually a Good thing. But good luck convincing someone of that Fact (or most other facts) if they've littered their front yard w/ tribalistic political signage. Wonder how a company can shed hundreds or thousands of workers, but still grant its top level execs millions in bonuses? Blame Greed. It's also what will send a lot of souls to an unexpected destination, if there truly is an afterlife. "For what does it profit a man to gain the world, but lose his soul?". Racist towns have been around forever, it seems, b/c so has bigotry & hate. Today, this toxic mindset is being promoted in certain sectors, as a way to continue controlling the masses. Give people a hall-pass to proudly be their Worst selves, and you can get them to do damn near Anything. Having scapegoats is preferred by those who are incapable of deeper thought... the kind needed to find humane solutions to life's troubles. So, Nazis are once again ascending (but are called "very good people" by a longtime Hitler fan, as they march across a once-peaceful town carrying torches). Things like Fairness & Kindness are ridiculed as "woke" by a guy trying to scuttle his state's largest employer. Will Floridians suffer w/o the wages & tourist $$s they've long enjoyed, if the Mouse moves elsewhere? Do we really think Ron cares, or has even thought that far ahead? Kids get their faces blown off in class, and None of us are safe anywhere in public anymore, even at church. Yet fearful, ignorant people remain focused on banning books, or on who gets to use which restroom. They won't allow gun-safety measures b/c they've been fed endless lies by the gang who profits Hugely from lying (the NRA). We, as a nation, have been tricked into fighting a culture war to prevent us from fighting a class war. But even fooled people wake up, eventually, when the pain becomes intolerable. Any deposed dictator would agree w/ that statement, if they were still breathing & able to speak. Will the Former USA (well, we sure as 💩 are Not "United" anymore, as planned) be able to reverse these trends before the streets once again run red to cries of "Eat the Rich!"? We shall see. I hope our leaders, on both sides of the aisle, come to realize the foolishness of this vast corruption. Esp if they believe in God as much as they claim. A well-educated nation is better able to compete in the world. People who can afford to purchase things like homes, food, clothing & shelter drive a healthy economy far more than a bunch of rich a-holes w/ tons of cash locked away in an offshore bank. To lift kids out of poverty, don't fund schools based on the taxes of the local economy, but on a set amount spent *per child*, across the nation. If rich people want private schools instead, they can pay for them Without using the tax $$$ that used to pay for safety nets for the most destitute. Don't like homelessness? Stop supporting the corrupt system that has allowed it to explode. Fight it w/ decency & Fairness instead. Real Christians also realize that doing so was basically JC's main message. Greedy pr*cks won't get past those pearly gates. Folks w/ hate-filled hearts likely won't fare any better. Being kind & Fair are the requirements to enter Paradise. The wealthiest people may lack the skillset needed in Heaven...esp compassion for others. Those who blame others for being victimized by such corruption need to take a good, long look in the mirror. If they won't, it may be b/c they know, deep down, that they won't like what they see.

Surprised to hear of a black with a job.

@@DJ-rt5ls grow up it’s 2023

@@judasz1427 and there are still 2 times the amount of blacks on unemployment than whites. Yet only 13% of the US population is black. Facts, look it up.

Good...not wanted.

"Our" black driver's???

One day I’ll be able to!

@@ChrisHarden: ...and when you get there, you'll get a healthy dose of racism, you being a white boy.

Sry sir your great grandfather was a racist and yo grandma

@@patroberts9497 you would be still living in your moms basement you coward

@@patroberts9497 what ???

@@patroberts9497 bro… what?

Some deep racist roots in your family huh

Southern Illinois Whites are more Racist then Southern Whites and Southern Illinois Whites hate big cities more then any other Whites because Chicago impacts the rest of the State so heavily, Also I would rather live in a big city then the middle of nowhere.

Stay tuned! It might take me a while but I plan on going everywhere.

Right makes sense. I think ultimately the high taxes help contribute to the higher rent. The property owners paying high property tax causes them to raise rent.

They're not leaving Chicago just because of the cost of living you're lying

Chicago and NYC has the best layout and public transport in North America. It is a shame high taxes and political bs is running them down.

@@AIDAHAR210 it's more than just that it's the crime rate and who is committing the majority of those crimes

I got myself lost!

@Tim Emmerson...you know the way...they are lost...Wal-Mart does NOT lead to Jonesboro unless you turn left at the 4way...tjey will end up in Cobden...lol. I grew up there too.

Thank you!

P.S. I left Illinois over 20 years ago due to the high cost of staying during retirement....

Did you notice the price of gas in the video? about half as much a gallon as it is now.

Everytime I was coming east I got gas in Iowa I just drove through illinois never slowed down until I hit Indiana. Got gas in Indiana. The amount fuel is in illinois they should pave EVERY road EVERY year. The amount of crooked deals in illinois is insane. So I always try not to stop/ do business there.

You can thank the superstore where he bought his Mt. Dew for that.

Pfft look who's doing the killing in the US. It ain't in the sundown towns.

Not really. This is the usa

And very necessary

@@davidballard5841 wow! Smh Caucasians are allergic to the Sun! And u feel that way?

@@davidballard5841 How is it very necessary?