YouTuber Yung Mooch learned how unwelcome he would be if he visited Vidor, Texas, a known sundown town.
In a clip posted on Instagram, Mooch and a friend stopped at a gas station approximately 30 minutes outside of Vidor and asked an attendant if they would be welcomed there. With a look of shock, the attendant barely hesitated before responding.
“It’s a very racist town. Better stay away from there,” the unidentified woman warned.
After other gas station customers warned the duo the same, the woman doubled down and detailed what could happen if the Black men went.
“They’ll hang people, drag people,” she said.
When Mooch’s friend attempted to reconfirm what she said, the woman reiterated, saying, “There’s a big possibility.”
The full 30-minute video on YouTube shows a Black man asking Mooch why he would consider going to a sundown town. Mooch’s response is that he is “testing the waters.”
The man then asked if the men had protection.
Other towns like Vidor, which is just east of Houston, were known as a racist hub in the Deep South. There are dozens of such towns across the U.S., but in Texas, there are more than 10, but Vidor has a particular reputation. In the early 1990s, according to Fox 26, the federal government attempted to integrate the town, but ultimately, the Black families living there were driven out.
However, things have seemingly changed since then. City leaders claim to welcome everybody to come and see for themselves.
“We’re not the same Vidor that people think we are,” City Manager Robbie Hood said. “This Vidor…We’re caring people, we love everybody. And I would say to the people that don’t think that to be necessarily true, come visit our city. You’ll see exactly who we are.”
There may be some truth there. In 2023, Vidor residents got rid of a small group of white supremacists sporting camouflage pants, black shirts, and the Aryan Freedom Network flag that set up shop with its logo on the Battle Flag of the Confederacy, as well as signs mentioning “white pride” and showing a swastika.
After police were sent due to calls of a disturbance between the group and residents, Vidor Police Chief Rod Carroll said the racist group confessed that the town was the first where they didn’t feel welcome.
As the group took over a public corner, Vidor residents joined in with their own signs reading, “We stand against racism.”
“We love everyone,” and “This community is not racist.”
“The reality is, you know, Vidor is not the Vidor of 40 years ago, and I’m actually proud of the citizenry for standing up against bigotry,” the police chief said.
Green Book Global defines a sundown town as one with unwritten rules to keep minorities out. Some towns will close at sundown to make it hard for Black people to gain employment or have hotels that refuse to serve non-white guests.
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