The Dane County Board addressed the history of racially discriminatory covenants and the legacy of racism in Dane County homeownership with Thursday night’s passage of 2024 RES-305.
These clauses, which barred certain races from purchasing property, were ruled unenforceable by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948 and banned by the Fair Housing Act in 1968. On March 22, 2024, Governor Evers signed Wisconsin Act 210, declaring such discriminatory restrictions “void and unenforceable.”
“These racist covenants are a powerful reminder of how systemic racism deliberately obstructed homeownership for Black people and other underrepresented communities,” said Chair Patrick Miles in a statement. “Facing and understanding this ugly chapter in our history is essential for dismantling those legacies.”
Racial covenants, also known as discriminatory covenants, were restrictions
inserted into property deeds that prohibited purchase, rental, or occupancy of a residence based on race and other protected classes. They were used nationwide for most of the 20th century as an insidious tool to prevent non-whites, non-Christians, and other minorities at the time from buying or occupying land in America’s growing suburbs and residential neighborhoods.
“In light of today’s federal landscape, it is vital that we learn from our history to prevent backsliding,” said Supervisor Chad Kemp in a statement. “Today, whether residents realize it or not, many affluent neighborhoods in Dane County still have these discriminatory covenants on their deeds. It is essential that we do everything that we can to remove discriminatory and antiquated language so that we are actually living the values that we hold true.”
(Photo: Sara Alvarado)
The county asked Own It: Building Black Wealth, a private sector network of Madison area professionals in the real estate, banking, and financial industries whose mission is to increase generational wealth in Black communities through homeownership, to accept the resolution at last night’s board meeting.
“Racial covenants played a significant role in perpetuating the racial wealth gap,” said Tiffany Malone, Own It: Building Black Wealth co-founder. “We can only overcome systemic racism and barriers to current homeownership if we first study this past and understand how it shows up today.”
Before the county board meeting, the Dane County Historical Society displayed the History of Racial Covenants exhibit at the City-County Building. Dane County Planning and Development has worked with several partners to uncover, develop, and present racially and ethnically restrictive covenants.
“By collecting and sharing this data, we’re helping to inform the community about the lasting impacts of housing discrimination here in Dane County, establishing a basis for education and action,” said Todd Violante, director of the Dane County Planning & Development Department. “Our department is proud to be part of this collaborative effort.”
