Discharging Discriminatory Restrictive Covenants

What are Discriminatory Restrictive Covenants? 

Discriminatory restrictive covenants are clauses that were inserted into property deeds to keep people who were not white from buying or occupying homes in many Minnesota neighborhoods. The result was a century of segregated communities. 

Does my property have a Discriminatory Restrictive Covenant? 

Mapping Prejudice, a team of historians, geographers, librarians, digital humanists and community activists seeking to expose structural racism, identifies and maps racial covenants. From their base in the University of Minnesota Libraries, the interdisciplinary team collaborates with community members to expose the history of structural racism and support the work of reparations.

View a map of Twin Cities Discriminatory Restrictive Covenants 

What can I do if my property is affected by a Discriminatory Restrictive Covenant?

Just Deeds provides free legal and title services to help property owners find racial covenants and discharge them from their property titles. The coalition also provides education opportunities to help communities acknowledge this racist history and pursue reconciliation and anti-racist solutions. Member organizations share responsibility of creating and correcting systemic racism in housing and acknowledging the racist systems that exist in communities.

Residents can contact the Just Deeds project for assistance in finding if their property once contained a discriminatory covenant and receive free legal assistance on how to disavow the covenant.

Contact Ramsey County to discharge the covenant