After the 1898 white supremacy campaign, racial attitudes in Charlotte shifted. As we engage in the thriving congregations project, the leadership of the Alliance of Baptists hopes our congregational partners will actively embrace our already stated commitment to expose and address embedded systemic racism, says Clayton Dempsey. Neighborhood's 'whites only' deed sparks controversy in Charlotte, Medical Marijuana bill passes NC Senate; some cannabis supporters against bill, PLAN AHEAD: Latest Weather Forecast Video. "A lot of people don't know about racial covenants," she said, adding that her husband and their four children are the first nonwhite family in their neighborhood. Though ruled unconstitutional, they remain in many deeds and can be seen in county offices by anyone who cares to see them. Kraemer that state enforcement of racially restrictive covenants in land deeds violated the equal protection clause of the 14 th Amendment. It is a topic she has covered extensively in her 30-year career. Racially restrictive covenants came into being as a private method of maintaining racial separation after the U.S. Supreme Court declared local residential segregation ordinances illegal in 1917 ( Buchanan v. Warley ). "People will try to say things didn't happen or they weren't as bad as they seem," Reese said. They were only one of many ways that local statutes, state laws and unwritten customs kept blacks and whites geographically apart in those days, but they were an important one. But that's just the way it is, and I think people should know that history - and it's not that long ago." During the first three decades of the twentieth century, North Carolina and U.S. courts repeatedly upheld racially restrictive covenants. Meanwhile, in south St. Louis, developers baked racial restrictions into plans for quiet, tree-lined subdivisions, ensuring that Black and in some communities, Asian American families would not become part of these new neighborhoods. The first racially restrictive covenants emerged in California and Massachusetts at the end of the 19th century.31 Early racially restrictive covenants were limited agreements governing individual parcels.32 39 Within a decade, racially restrictive covenants had been enthusiastically embraced by the real estate industry.33 The Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. The projects core team also includes sociologists Mark Mulder, of Calvin University and Kevin Dougherty, of Baylor University, whove spent their careers examining racial and ethnic dynamics in American churches. Sebastian Hidalgo for NPR Former NPR investigative intern Emine Ycel contributed to this story. Myers Park Charlotte NC is within walking distance to Freedom Park (which has some of the best lit public tennis courts in the area), Queens University, fine dining, upscale shopping and is only about 3 miles from Uptown Charlotte NC. thanks, Mike always means a lot coming from you but now, its time to dream of other things like shad boats! Most people know that racial disharmony, resentment and segregation have long characterized the American church. It could create discouragement." Defendants received copies of the restrictive covenants, including the setback restrictions, at their closing, but the restrictions were not contained in Defendants deed, and Defendants apparently did not have actual knowledge of the restrictions. "This is an interesting time to be having a conversation about racially restrictive covenants," Thomas said. advertised a neighborhood, then named Inspiration Heights. Sebastian Hidalgo for NPR Advertisement. Members of Myers Park Baptist, a progressive church in an affluent neighborhood, viewed themselves as on the forefront of racial justice. What has happened is we have layered laws and regulations on top of each other, beginning around 1900 with restrictive covenants and deeds, Hatchett said. hide caption. Coastal developments are hardly the states only communities where racial covenants remain in many deeds. "It made me feel sick about it," said Sullivan, who is white and the mother of four. Myers Park is, like most places, more complicated than simple descriptions. But he hasn't addressed the hundreds of subdivision and petition covenants on the books in St. Louis. Jim Crow laws prevented Black families from moving to certain neighborhoods, and the Myers Park area was one of them. To Reese, that means having hard conversations about that history with her children, friends and neighbors. The Hansberry house on Chicago's South Side. She used her finger to skim past the restrictions barring any "slaughterhouse, junk shop or rag picking establishment" on her street, stopping when she found what she had come to see: a city "Real Estate Exchange Restriction Agreement" that didn't allow homeowners to "sell, convey, lease or rent to a negro or negroes." A view of San Diego's El Cerrito neighborhood. (If you cannot locate the deed restrictions that apply to your property, you can probably obtain them from the lawyer who assisted you in purchasing your home or you can go to the office of the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds, who can help you locate those restrictions.). The house could not be occupied by those minority groups unless they were servants. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. When they learn their deeds have these restrictions, people are "shocked," she said. There was, in effect, collusion among bankers, insurers, developers and real estate agents to keep coastal development in the hands of whites. Sebastian Hidalgo for NPR As he had warned me, I found what are called racial covenants everywhere, including the Dare County Courthouse in Manteo, the Carteret County Courthouse in Beaufort, the Pender County Courthouse in Burgaw and the New Hanover County Courthouse in Wilmington. In effect, they became a different kind of sundown town: all-white neighborhoods, all-white neighborhood associations (or town councils) and all-white beaches. "Many, many years ago, the supreme court ruled that race based restricted covenants were illegal.". A bus segregation sign from North Carolina. Maybe they will even help you to grow a little closer to wherever you call home. The purpose of this strong enforcement is to maintain the original charter of the Myers Park neighborhood. to Davidson College, the five-year project will work to shed light on the challenges of racism among white dominant congregations in North America and help churches, like Myers Park Baptist, to build on their commitment to racial equity and expand their capacity for confronting racial justice. In fact, some of those developments later incorporated as towns. Incidentally it was my sister, Clara Hargraves who came upon your series and passed along the information to me. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled racial covenants to be unconstitutional in 1948, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 made them violations of federal law. During the early-twentieth century, however, they were used as instruments of residential segregation in the United States. Members of Myers Park Baptist, a progressive church in an affluent neighborhood, viewed themselves as on the forefront of racial justice. Boswell is not alone. Johnson, who is Black and lived in Chicago as a child but later moved to the suburbs, said she didn't know racial covenants existed before co-sponsoring the legislation. He said in a statement that "it would be too premature to promise action before seeing the covenants, but we do encourage people to reach out to our office if they find these covenants.". Congregations will actively confront structures of racism to remove a crucial obstacle to thriving, one that spiritually and materially affects all people. Lawsuit over Myers Park home could have citywide impact. Year over year crime in Charlotte has decreased by 13%. Thank you for the great series. It served as the headquarters of the National Association of Real Estate Boards, which was a "clearinghouse" for ideas about real estate practice, Winling said. "It was one of those rare moments where you really see truth spoke to power," she said, adding that she hopes Pasadena Hills serves as a model for other towns across the country with such covenants. In Myers Park you have a 1 in 53 chance of becoming a victim of crime. Following a lead from an attorney who formerly specialized in property and land access issues at the N.C. Attorney Generals Office, Ive been visiting register of deeds offices whenever I happen to be in one of the states coastal county seats. Together, they convinced a state lawmaker to sponsor a bill to remove the racial covenants from the record. In order to understand what is going on today we have to understand our history, Curtis said. The racially restrictive covenant that Selders uncovered can be found on the books in nearly every state in the U.S., according to an examination by NPR, KPBS, St. Louis Public Radio, WBEZ and inewsource, a nonprofit investigative journalism site. Missing are parts 3, 4, 5, and 6, Hi, you can find the whole series here https://davidcecelski.com/tag/the-color-of-water/. The Alliance has centered its mission on doing justice, loving mercy and following the radicalness of Jesus for more than 30 years. The covenant applied to all 1,700 homes in the homeowners association, she said. All rights reserved. The deed includes a list of restrictions the developers of Myers Park wrote to ensure the neighborhood would always have big lawns and homes set back from the road. "The places that had racial restrictive covenants remain today more white than they should be in terms of their predicted distribution of population," says Gregory. You can just ignore it,' " Jackson said. Carlos H, sounds good, Carlos. While digging through local laws concerning backyard chickens, Selders found a racially restrictive covenant prohibiting homeowners from selling to Black people. (LogOut/ Maybe I could call you sometime? They helped to guarantee that new housing developments would only be available to whites and that white buyers could invest in a home with the full expectation that the neighborhood would always remain all white. Segregated drinking fountain, Halifax County Courthouse, Halifax, N.C., 1938. Several organizations serve congregations in Black, Hispanic and Asian-American traditions. But the covenants remained on the books. That all changed in 1948 when J.D. hide caption. Although the restrictions differ somewhat from one part of Myers Park to another, most of the restrictions are more demanding than (and override) the regulations contained in the Citys Building and Zoning Code. Maryland passed a law in 2020 that allows property owners to go to court and have the covenants removed for free. A few years before Brown, in 1948, racially restrictive covenants were rendered impotent by the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Shelley v. Kraemer. Thousands of homes in the city - maybe even yours - have discriminating language written into their original deeds. This is what it means to be a church in the 21st century.. Im still exploring North Carolinas coastal past and learning new things all the time, so if I find anything important on the history of Jim Crow and the states coastal waters, Ill be sure to add to the series in the future. It's impossible to know exactly how many racially restrictive covenants remain on the books throughout the U.S., though Winling and others who study the issue estimate there are millions. Simply signing to be a nice guy is not a financially smart move. Gordon argues that racially restrictive covenants are the "original sin" of segregation in America and are largely responsible for the racial wealth gap that exists today. A few years ago, Dew decided to look at that home's 1950 deed and found a "nice paragraph that tells me I didn't belong. It's the kind of neighborhood where people take pride in the pedigree of their home. You jeopardize this investment if the restrictions protecting this property are weakened. Congregations will actively confront structures of racism to remove a crucial obstacle to thriving, one that spiritually and materially affects all peoplewhite, Black, LatinX, Asian Pacific Islanders, Indigenous peoples and people of color.