As mentioned earlier, sundown towns are all-white areas that practice racial segregation by excluding nonwhite people from the area, through violence, legislation or intimidation (usually, a combination of all three). The term popped up during the Jim Crow era, when violently enforced racial exclusion was the norm in towns around America, according to the Zinn Education Project. It came from a phrase sometimes posted at a city’s border at the time: “N***er, don’t let the sun go down on you in this town,” as also noted in William David Hart’s 2012 paper “Racing and E-racing Pragmatism.” Though Jim Crow is when the term and norm were popularized, restrictions on nonwhite people’s movements have been traced back to the colonial era. In the 1700s, the general court and legislative assembly of New Hampshire passed “An Act to Prevent Disorders in the Night,” which required that “no Indian, Negro, or Molatto” be away from home after 9 p.m.

As the 20th century progressed, many thought sundown towns were a thing of the past. In reality, they remained, but operated more inconspicuously. Oprah Winfrey shed light on the issue in 1987, when she famously ventured where no other Black journalist had gone before: Forsyth County, Georgia. She spoke to locals and hosted a conversation between them and racially diverse attendees from outside of the county. The groundbreaking interview revealed to viewers that sundown towns still existed and made the country more aware of the issue.

Today, sundown towns may not look like they did during the mid-20th century, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. According to NPR, Martinsville, Indiana, has long been labeled a sundown town. Not only was it an alleged home to the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, but it’s still known for its lack of tolerance for those with darker skin, which is, in part, evident, thanks to the Confederate flags that fly all over town, according to the Indiana Daily Student. That proves to be a problem for some Black Indiana University students — Martinsville is where the main road to campus is, making it unavoidable, the outlet reported. Other places in the Midwest, like Pekin, Illinois, Shelby, Ohio, and Corbin, Kentucky, are also said to be unsafe for Black travelers.

Earlier this year, 21-year-old Angel Pittman tried to pursue her dream of creating a mobile hair salon. After buying an acre of unrestricted land in Salisbury, North Carolina, she thought she was well on her way, until intolerance stopped her in her tracks, The Guardian reported. Salisbury is located in Rowan County, a sundown area that is 79% white and 17% Black. Her new neighbors were hostile toward her, giving her nasty looks and asking her, “Why are you guys here? Are y’all looking for shade?” Her buses were vandalized, and one of her neighbors prominently displayed Confederate flags, swastikas and KKK signs all over his yard. Pittman told the Guardian the racist memorabilia was not there prior to her acquiring the land. Pittman later had to flee the county for her own safety.

Travel influencer and California native Annette Richmond told Blavity “Burbank, [California], and Glendale, [California], were once sundown towns.” She lives in the former, and shared that “some areas can be sketchy for especially Black people.”

During Jim Crow, Black travelers relied on the Green Book to get them around safely. The pamphlet, which was published in 1936 and authored by Victor Hugo Green, provided safe accommodation, dining and traveling information for Black travelers, IDS reported. Today, there have been calls for a modern version of the Green Book, and some do exist, like History & Social Justice’s database that identifies current sundown towns in the U.S.

Plus, thanks to social media, there is a plethora of Black travel influencers who share lifesaving information about how to travel while Black, both within and outside of the U.S. According to The Awkward Traveller, it’s best to avoid empty gas stations and driving late at night. She also recommends not filling up your car in small towns if you can help it.

Richmond suggested that planning is the key to a safe road trip.

“Plan your stops,” she recommended. “Preplan where you’ll be stopping for gas, bathroom breaks and snacks. Avoid stopping in small rural towns at night for these essentials.”

The travel expert added that reviews are your best friend.

“If an establishment has a reputation for discrimination, it will probably be mentioned in a review. When checking reviews, search the negative reviews first, then use the search tool to search for keywords in the reviews.”

And finally, if you do find yourself in a dangerous situation, Richmond said to keep calm.

“If something does pop off during your trip, they will expect you to act out,” she said. “So don’t. Try to stay calm, and ask for all identifying information, including name, position or title, store number, employee number, or badge number. If the situation begins to escalate, ask that someone records the interaction so that there’s visual proof of what happened.”

It’s unfortunate that as a Black traveler, your safety isn’t guaranteed within or outside of the U.S. But knowledge is power, and having an explicit and researched travel plan can make all the difference, and make sure that you have a safe and happy vacation.