In the early twentieth century, in the wake of the Civil War and the failure of Reconstruction, thousands of African Americans fled the South and sought freedom from discrimination, jobs and opportunities in the rapidly industrializing cities of the North.  By the time they arrived in places like Chicago, Milwaukee and yes, Dane County communities as well, they found that fearful, nativist white residents had already slammed shut many of the doors of opportunity.  Inspired by federal mortgage guidelines, realtors, landowners, subdivision boards and neighborhood associations recorded documents on their property preventing the sale to blacks, Asians, Jews and others not perceived as “white.”  Although the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated such covenants in 1948, the records still exist to this day.  The Dane County Historical Society’s traveling “Unjust Deeds” exhibit and the Dane County Department of Planning and Development’s “Predjudice in Places” project work to identify those covenants and to help current landowners repudiate them.  Rick Bernstein is the Executive Director of the Dane County Historical Society and the Chair of the Dane County Heritage Preservation Commission.  Bridgit Van Belleghem, Senior Planner for Dane County Planning and Development.  They joined the Monday Buzz on June 2, 2025.

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