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 now. Whenever homebuyers in 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 played encouraging racially restrictive covenants and denying mortgages to individuals who lived in areas without the covenants, and (d) the many other racist housing policies that contributed to segregation in Washtenaw County.
3. Education about restrictive covenants should impact current housing policy debates. When setting housing policy today, it is critical to know the history of housing discrimination in Ann Arbor. For example, there are those in Ann Arbor who wish to (1) stop development of new housing projects, (2) maintain one-family housing zoning throughout large parts of the city, and (3) prevent a dedicated source of funding for affordable housing. Policymakers need to understand that racially restrictive covenants and other racist housing policies caused current segregation in the city and how some of these proposals would effectively freeze discrimination in place.
What should be done about them? Currently, the process of repealing covenants on a home is complex, expensive and time-consuming. However, with guidance from our Advisory Board, Justice InDeed is in conversation with community partners about ways to repeal racially restrictive covenants through neighborhood/community organizing, litigation and/or legislation. Justice InDeed is committed to finding ways to amend the deed and repeal the racial covenants without erasing or "whitewashing" history.
Would repealing the racially restrictive covenant in my neighborhood, or on my house erase or "whitewash" history? Absolutely not. Justice InDeed is strongly against erasing the history of discrimination. Under this project, Washtenaw County homeowners do not redact the racially restrictive covenants or physically remove the document from Register or Deeds files. Rather, we file a new amendment document that (1) explains the harm done by racially restrictive covenants, (2) repudiates and reveals the racist restriction, and (3) replaces it with a covenant prohibiting discrimination. So historians researching the chain of title on the property would both see the original language of the racial covenant and the amendment repealing the racially restrictive covenant. Plus, Justice InDeed is mapping all neighborhoods and homes in Washtenaw where racially restrictive covenants existed as a reminder of the pervasive and ugly history of housing discrimination in our county.
Author's experience
Now I want to add some personal views that involve rental properties that reflect racial and economic inequality and discrimination. The rule that a renter's income must be three times the rental rate is another way to say if you are not wealthy, then we don't want you to occupy our rental property. There are also a lot of landlords who won't consider low-income people at all who have Section 8 or a Housing Choice Voucher, and will not cooperate with this program. Then there are landlords who won't keep the rental properties up to standard knowing that most renters will tolerate substandard living conditions because they don't want to become homeless.
A lot of the leasing managers are not honest about some of their billing policies or practices. For example, I live in housing that did not make it clear that the property owner divides the water bill from a four-unit rental property into what is supposed to be your water bill payment each month. There are eight other renters from two other building units who use the laundry room washer. Who pays for that water? They expect you to pay the utility in full the same day they give you a bill that is simply a printout they make — not from an official utility company. This is surely illegal! The rental payment portal has no way to designate what your payments are for. If I don't pay the utility in full, they take the money and say I did not pay my rent.
I feel inequities like this will always exist because money is more important than human life nowadays.
Justice InDeed was featured on Centering Justice Webcast. Listen to the conversation and hear how you can make an impact in unearthing our racialized history. If interested, reach out to justiceindeed@futureroot.com.
Join Justice InDeed on Monday, August 26, 7-8 p.m. for a virtual work session (on Zoom) to further document racially restrictive covenants on property deeds. Register on the Events page on their website, justiceindeedmi.org
