6 GROUNDCOVER NEWS RACIAL JUSTICE AUGUST 23, 2024 Justice InDeed is uncovering the hidden histories of housing discrimination in Washtenaw County ANONYMOUS Justice InDeed is a collaborative project dedicated to exposing the deeds of thousands of homes in Washtenaw County which contain "racially restrictive covenants" — or provisions prohibiting Black people and other minorities from living there. As a group of researchers, students, residents and community activists, they are working to: • educate the community about the role these covenants and other racist housing policies played in causing segregation and economic inequality; • repeal the covenants; • and encourage the adoption of policies to repair the damage caused by systemic housing discrimination in Washtenaw County. Here are some frequently asked questions (from the Justice InDeed website): What are racially restrictive covenants? A racially restrictive covenant is part of a home's deed that prohibits people of certain races from buying and occupying property. Why were racially restrictive covenants written into deeds? Racially restrictive covenants were one of many racist tools used by white homeowners and developers to ensure that neighborhoods remained segregated. While racial covenants were written into deeds of homes in Washtenaw County as early as 1912, their use became particularly widespread both in Washtenaw County and nationally beginning in the 1920s. Institutions and individuals who wanted to enforce racial segregation saw racial covenants as an alternative to racially restrictive zoning, which the United States Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional in 1917. Unlike racially restrictive zoning ordinances, which were enacted by the government, covenants were seen as private agreements. Both the U.S. Supreme (1926) and the Michigan Supreme Court (1922 and 1947) initially held that private individuals could enforce racial covenants in court to prevent people of color from living in their neighborhoods. Are racially restrictive covenants legal? Not anymore. In 1948, the United States Supreme Court ruled that courts, as government bodies, could no longer enforce racially restrictive covenants — although the Court did not say they were illegal (Shelley v. Kraemer). Finally in 1968, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act, outlawing housing discrimination by private parties and making racially restrictive covenants patently illegal. Although racially restrictive covenants are now illegal, they still exist as part of the deeds to thousands of homes in Washtenaw County. Restrictive covenants "run with the land," remaining on the title in perpetuity absent legal, legislative or other action. In other words, a change in ownership of the land of property does not alter existing covenants for the property. If racially restrictive covenants are unenforceable and illegal, why should we care about them? Despite the fact that they are not enforceable today, racially restrictive covenants remain on home deeds as repugnant reminders of the blatant racism that characterizes American housing practices and continues into the present day. Justice InDeed believes that it is critical to take action to address racially restrictive covenants because: 1. The covenants cause real harm in now. Whenever homebuyers Wash-tenaw County read their closing packets, they read that people of color – and sometimes non-Christians — are unwelcome in the neighborhood. It can be jarring and cause stigmatized injury. One local real estate agent told us that she knew of one would-be homebuyer who was so offended by a covenant that, even though it was unenforceable, he refused to close and decided to buy elsewhere. We see these covenants as similar to a "White Christians Only" sign at the entrance to a subdivision today; while such a sign is unenforceable, it would be — and should be — distressing to all who see it. 2. Education about racism begins at home. Justice InDeed thinks that there is no better way to teach the residents of Washtenaw County of the pervasiveness of white supremacy than to show them the house they live in has a racially restrictive covenant. This knowledge would then serve as an entree to education about, for example, (a) how covenants denied people of color the opportunity to attain wealth through homeownership, (b) how they deprived people of color the opportunity to live in neighborhoods where their children would go to integrated schools, (c) the role of the federal, state and local government see INDEED next page
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