Thanks to our members for supporting neighborhood news.
A study of Dakota County property records has unearthed racist language from as late as the 1950s that sought to segregate and discriminate against people of color. So far these racial covenants have been found in more than 40 West St. Paul properties. While they are unenforceable and have no legal effect, it’s a stark reminder that blatant racism and segregation were once alive and well in Minnesota.
Why it matters: Historic limitations on property ownership, homeownership, and wealth has a direct impact on racial progress today.
- “Racial covenants reek of hate and discrimination,” said Dakota County Commissioner Joe Atkins. “Discharging them sends the opposite message, telling people that all are welcome here.”
- “Stories of racism in Minnesota don’t get told,” Dakota County Commissioner Laurie Halverson told the Star Tribune. “These stories should be told.”
Support neighborhood news, starting at just $3 per month. Join now
History of Racial Covenants
Racial covenants were often added to property records saying the property could never be owned or occupied by a person of color. Similar to redlining, it’s a historic example of racism and segregation attempting to keep neighborhoods white.
- In 1948, the Supreme Court ruled racial covenants were unenforceable.
- In 1953, the Minnesota Legislature made it illegal to put new racial covenants in the property record.
- But the covenants continued until the 1968 federal Fair Housing Act prohibited housing discrimination and made racial covenants explicitly illegal.
- While racial covenants have no legal effect, they still exist in property records due to state law that requires maintaining all document history. Some argue they shouldn’t be erased because it’s a record proving historic racism.
Hennepin and Ramsey Counties have been researching their property records over the past few years and Dakota County is just getting started.
Actual text found in West St. Paul property records:
“No person of any race other than the white race shall own, use or occupy any building on said premises, except that this restriction shall not prevent the occupancy by domestic servants of a different race domiciled with an owner or tenant.”
“Not to sell, lease, or rent to any person or persons other than of the Caucasian race, nor shall any person or persons, other than of the caucasian race be permitted to occupy the premises hereby conveyed or any lot or portion of said Addition, provided always that this restriction shall not be construed or interpreted to exclude bona fide servants of any race from residing or being upon or occupying any part of said premises hereby conveyed, or any other lot of said addition.”
Where Are These Properties?
So far, 560 properties that had racial covenants have been found across Dakota County, including Eagan, Lakeville, and Hastings. But the primary concentrations are in Mendota Heights, South St. Paul, and West St. Paul.
- West St. Paul: Properties found so far in West St. Paul include a small cluster north of Butler and east of Robert, and an entire neighborhood southeast of Dodge Nature Center. These date from the 1940s and 1950s, a few after they were made illegal in Minnesota. The Hurley name, a prominent family in West St. Paul, is included in a number of these properties.
- Map: The data is being shared and mapped online by Mapping Prejudice.
- More to come: Mapping Prejudice is only one-third complete with their effort, so more properties will likely be found. They hope to complete their work by the end of the year.
Wait, Don’t People Know?
Most people have no idea if a racial covenant existed on their home. It’s not in the multitude of paperwork a home buyer would sign at a closing. In most cases, the only way to find it is to research Dakota County property records in Hastings.
It’s not like people have been buying homes for 70 years and shrugging their shoulders at this archaic and racist practice. Once it became illegal, it was relegated to a dusty filing cabinet and people didn’t know.
So why does it matter now? Because that impact has carried forward. Blatantly racist and illegal acts of racial covenants and redlining turned into less obviously racist and hard to prove acts of steering buyers and denying home loans (just last month Wells Fargo settled a racial discrimination lawsuit and has a history of problems). An entire generation being blocked from homeownership has a trickledown effect.
West St. Paul Reactions
Explaining today: “It doesn’t surprise me that our neighborhood was once part of a restrictive, racial covenant,” said Randi Walz, a current school board candidate who learned about her home’s racial covenant last year. “It actually helps explains how residential segregation patterns can still persist today.”
- For Walz, that knowledge motivated her to support a proposed mental health crisis center in her neighborhood.
Nothing new: “I’m not shocked that that was a practice,” said Kimetha “KaeJae” Johnson, the founder of Residents of Color Collective and someone actively house shopping. “What is shocking is the way it’s presented like it’s new information. In our community we know there’s something that prevents us from being able to purchase in a neighborhood.”
- “It confirms what we were always thinking that there are these underlying processes that continue to create barriers for us to be able to improve our lives,” said Johnson. While the covenants are illegal and can’t be enforced, their effect lingers. “Just because the law says it’s illegal to treat us a certain way doesn’t stop people from treating us that way.”
Wondering about lingering impacts: “Heart breaking is my initial reaction, as a kid who grew up in West Saint Paul,” said Rodrigo Sanchez, a West St. Paul homeowner and teacher. “As a person who was fighting in the house market for three years, it makes me wonder if I did lose out on certain houses due to racism.”
How to Move Forward
Not defined by past: “The way to make a neighborhood better and stronger is to support and welcome all,” Walz said. “The past doesn’t define who we are today just as past restrictive covenants don’t define our neighborhood today.”
Expose and avoid repeating: “As much of as we can expose the negative, the racism, the better,” said Sanchez. “We can’t hide anything anymore, we all know that history repeats itself one way or another but for the better of our future generation, we need to put a stop to this.”
Dig deeper: “In order for us to move forward, we have to know how far we’ve come since 1953,” said Johnson. “I will be curious to see for those houses that hold those deeds, how many times they were actually sold to people of color. That’s the data I’m interested in, because that will show that practice beyond 1953.”
What to Do About Racial Covenants
“For many, including me, finding a racial covenant on the title for a family home is sickening,” said Atkins, whose father and grandfather lived in a house on Earl Lane in South St. Paul that was discovered to have racial covenants. “But it is also an opportunity to learn from history, to improve, and to avoid future errors.”
While racial covenants can’t be removed, they can be discharged, which means an affidavit is added to the property title that rejects the racist language of the historical covenant.
- Dischage: Just Deeds provides free legal and title services to help with a discharge document.
- County action: The Dakota County Board of Commissioners is voting on August 28 to exempt discharge fees, discharge any covenants found on Dakota County property, add a notice to impacted properties that the covenants have no legal effect, and give Just Deeds access to property documents.
- City action: Many cities partner with Just Deeds to help homeowners. West St. Paul City Manager Nate Burkett said the city is looking into proposing a program,
but doesn’t have details yetand City Council will hear details on Monday, August 28.
Townhall: Atkins is also hosting a townhall at Dakota Lodge at Thompson Park on Wednesday, September 27 at 6:30 p.m. Michael Corey from Mapping Prejudice will give a presentation.
Neighborhood news with no paywall? It happens thanks to our members. Join now to keep your community informed.
