Student Training Materials
Racial Covenants Research Project – EWU
Please review the following background materials to prepare you for work on this important project:
Books:
- The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein. 2017. Liveright Publishing Corp., especially the Preface (pgs.vii-xvii), Chapter 5: Private Agreements, Government Enforcement (pgs. 77-91) and Epilogue (pgs. 215-217).
Online Film or Clips:
- Housing Segregation and Redlining in America: A Short History | Code Switch | NPR (6.36 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5FBJyqfoLM
- Jim Crow of the North, Full Length Documentary (57.36 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWQfDbbQv9E
- Redlining and Racial Covenants: Jim Crow of the North (8 min, short version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymOaiWla3DU
Online Articles:
- Racial covenants, a relic of the past… still on the books. NPR 2021
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/17/1049052531/racial-covenants-housing-discrimination
- Whites-only covenants still exist in many mid-century Spokane neighborhoods. Spokesman. 2016
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/dec/04/whites-only-covenants-still-exist-in-many-mid-cent/
Background Info Links:
- Here is an example of a residential development’s racial restriction from 1953, See point ‘c’,pg. 1
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11eBC5VbMo2RaNz0mzzYD3Yl8WlhdW6yo/view
- What is the difference between de facto and de jure segregation?
https://www.thoughtco.com/de-facto-segregation-definition-4692596
- What is House Bill 1335 (SHB 1335)?
https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/covenants_law.htm
- Here is an example of how hidden ‘Restrictions’ may be on a plat map
https://gis.douglascountywa.net/search/documents/surveys/RL040513.pdf
Relevant Websites to Browse:
- Racial Restrictive Covenants, WA State Zooniverse
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/jngregory/racial-restrictive-covenants-washington-state
- Segregated Seattle (our partner university, UW’s, racial segregation research project(s))
https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/segregated.htm
- Racial Restrictions History (Seattle) Web Article: https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/covenants_report.htm
- Mapping Prejudice (Website for UMN’s spearheading project on mapping racial covenants)
https://mappingprejudice.umn.edu/
Training Video and Info:
- How to Use the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Website to Search for Racial Covenants. A Loom video by Dr. Larry Cebula
https://www.loom.com/share/9ff6df37194a49d19fdba20076458a1a
(Note that at 1:02, when Dr. Cebula shows a link for Survey Research Online Service WebXtender, the current website looks a bit different. This link is now larger, and very clearly says “Click here to log in to WebExtender”).
- To determine Township and Range, you can use the Randy Majors Section Township Range mapping tool: https://www.randymajors.org/township-range-on-google-maps?x=-117.3605610&y=46.8877719&cx=-117.3605610&cy=46.8877719&zoom=13&color=1e73be&counties=show.
Type the name of a city found within the county you are researching into the search box to view the Township and Range info. Note that larger cities might span 2 or more Townships so observe the map and conduct secondary searches for other Townships that encompass the city you are researching. Research the bigger cities, followed by smaller cities, then check census designated areas and unincorporated towns.
