Traveling Exhibit: Unjust Deeds

For most of the 20th century, racial covenants were an insidious tool used nationwide to segregate whites from Blacks and other minorities in America’s burgeoning suburbs and residential neighborhoods. Racial covenants were clauses inserted into property deeds to prevent non-whites and non-Christians from buying or occupying land.

Although no longer valid or enforceable, they can still be found in the land deeds of almost every American community, including Dane County.

Racial covenants were made illegal with the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968. Nevertheless, their impacts were pervasive and are still with us today.

Stop in to visit this traveling exhibit developed by the Dane County Historical Society, and learn about the ordinances once in place in Dane County.

The Library is hosting speaker Rick Bernstein to share the history of racial covenants in Dane Counter at 1pm on Saturday, December 13. 

This exhibit was created by the Dane County Historical Society and is sponsored by Dane Arts, the Evjue Foundation, Beyond the Page, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Madison Community Foundation.