Every February, in honor of Black History Month, Housing Up does a deep dive into housing issues that disproportionately impact Black communities. Last year, in our blog post, “Racism and Homelessness,” we examined how decades of housing discrimination, especially redlining and the exclusion of Black soldiers from the G.I. bill, led to disparities in wealth and housing insecurity that persist today. This Black History Month, we are turning our focus locally to explore the legacy of racial housing covenants and how they continue to shape DC neighborhoods and housing inequity across the city. 

Emerging as a widespread practice in response to the Great Migration in the early 20th century, racial covenants were clauses written into deeds or mortgages that legally prohibited people of color from buying, leasing, or occupying homes. In 1928, the National Association of Real Estate Boards formally endorsed racial housing covenants in its Code of Ethics. Although the Supreme Court ruled in Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) that racial covenants violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, the Courts maintained that covenants in private agreements were legal. It wasn’t until the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968 that housing discrimination was officially outlawed in policy, if not in practice. 

The History of Racial Housing Covenants in DC 

Between 1890 and 1950, DC’s population more than tripled. A major driver of this population growth was the Great Migration, which was the mass exodus of Black Americans from the Jim Crow South to industrial and government job opportunities in the North, Midwest, and West from 1917 to 1970. As Black communities expanded in cities across the US, real estate developers imposed racial housing covenants to prevent Black residents from purchasing homes in certain neighborhoods. Racial covenants, along with redlining, a federally adopted policy that labeled predominantly Black areas as “risky investments”, associated the presence of Black residents with diminished property values. In DC, racial covenants became a common real estate practice, particularly in North Washington, in neighborhoods like Brightwood and Petworth, where new housing was being built. 

Until 1950, covenants confined many Black residents to the older housing along the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers and prohibited them from settling west of Rock Creek Park, with Park Road serving as a racial dividing line. After the Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) ruling, Black families began moving into previously white-only neighborhoods throughout DC. As neighborhoods began to integrate, white families relocated in droves to the suburbs. This phenomenon, often referred to as “white flight,” led to significant disinvestment in urban areas. With the support of the G.I. bill, which prioritized building affordable housing for middle-class white families in the suburbs, white residents were able to accumulate generational wealth. However, DC’s well-established Black middle class was largely excluded from the real estate market and denied these same opportunities for economic growth. 

Lasting Impacts 

In 1957, DC was named the first majority-Black major city in the US, and at its height in 1970, Black residents made up 71 percent of DC’s population. While covenants no longer existed, decades of discrimination and disinvestment had left a devastating economic impact on DC’s Black community. One of the first waves of gentrification occurred in the 1980s, as white young professionals and investors displaced Black and Hispanic families from older neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill, Logan Circle, Mount Pleasant, and Adams Morgan. No longer able to afford the rising cost of housing, Black families who had resided in DC for generations were forced to move to the outskirts of the city. 

Over the course of 20 years, due to a combination of factors, including disinvestment in the city and racist policies that resulted in mass incarceration, significant health inequities, and a widening racial wealth gap, the city’s population plummeted. In 2003, the DC government invested in a plan that aimed to attract 100,000 wealthy residents. By 2010, the plan came to fruition, and a second major wave of gentrification took place. Historically Black parts of the city, like Shaw and Ivy City, saw a significant increase in white young professionals. With this new demand, housing costs skyrocketed over the coming years. Despite a growing need for affordable housing, the number of public housing units had declined by 30 percent since 1990, and demand continuously outpaced supply. With a dwindling availability of affordable housing, Black residents were increasingly displaced. Between 2000 and 2010, DC’s Black population declined by almost 40,000, while the number of white residents increased by 50,000. Today, Black residents are no longer a majority, making up 43 percent of DC’s population in 2025. 

Investing in DC’s Black Community 

Although the Fair Housing Act outlawed housing discrimination nearly 60 years ago, the original lines that segregated DC predominantly remain. The exclusion of Black families from the real estate market caused lasting economic damage and wealth inequality that has yet to be repaired. Instead of investing in these newly integrated neighborhoods, investors and government policies maintained discriminatory housing practices informally and covertly, by disregarding the needs of DC’s Black residents. 

At Housing Up, the majority of the more than 500 families we serve are Black. The impact of historical housing discrimination and gentrification is widely felt amongst the families we serve, some of whom have resided in the city for generations. For over a century, DC has been the center of Black activistism, arts, academia, and business. Black culture is the heartbeat of DC; from the Civil Rights Movement to Go-Go, there is no denying that Black history is DC’s history. 

Every Thursday throughout Black History Month, check out our Black History in DC series on Instagram, where we highlight how the Black community has shaped and continues to shape the city. We encourage you to celebrate Black history year-round and in meaningful ways, because honoring the achievements and contributions of the Black community requires more than a month of dedication; it needs concrete action. Join Housing Up in our mission to advance housing justice and ensure that all families have access to safe and affordable housing in DC.