On Race, Have We Come A Long Way? (Or Not?)

When our house was built, only white people would have been
permitted to own or rent it.

I recently found a copy of a deed of trust recorded 70 years ago on May 21, 1951, for the property on which our home was built.  A member of the faculty of a nearby college purchased three lots along Hamlet Drive from a respected member of its board of trustees, with the following stipulations, all typical of deeds of that era:

1. The said lots shall be used for residential purposes and for no other purpose. No trailer, tent, garage or other outbuildings shall be place or constructed upon said lots, and used as a residence.

2. That no chicken houses or hog pens shall be constructed on said lots.

3. That no residence shall be erected on said lots, or either of them, of less value at construction than Five Thousand Dollars ($5000.00). 

4. That no residence or other outbuildings shall be erected upon said lots, within fifty (50) feet of the western line of a thirty (30) foot street.

5. That said lots shall not be sold or leased to any person or persons other than the white race.

6. That in case of any violation, or attempted violation of any of the covenants herein contained, any owner or owner of other lots situated in said subdivision shall have the right to file a bill in equity against the person or person violating or attempting to violate any of the said covenants, to obtain a perpetual injunction against the same.

I can assure you that when we sell our house there will be no clause barring people of color, which would be illegal in any case, but has our community ever fully overcome its racist past? Hamlet Drive has remained virtually all white with the exception of a past tenant in our basement and a current couple from the Middle East in another nearby ground floor apartment.

So while I celebrate changes in housing and other laws in the past half century, I suspect that fundamental changes in our hearts and minds, and in our friendships and relationships, still need to be made.

What do you think?