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New map shows Monroe County properties with racially restrictive covenants

The Monroe County Recorder's Office has released a map showing properties with racially restrictive covenants dating back to the early 1900s.

The Monroe County Recorder's Office has released a map showing properties with racially restrictive covenants dating back to the early 1900s. (Courtesy of Monroe County Recorder's Office)

There are about 570 Monroe County properties dating back to the early 1900s that have deeds with language restricting who may buy or rent properties based on the individual’s race.

That’s according to a newly launched interactive map, which is the culmination of a years-long effort by the Monroe County Recorder’s Office to collect, identify and publicize which properties contain such language in their records.

“Just being aware of your history, you can make sure not to repeat it,” Monroe County Recorder Amy Swain said. “That’s really the goal of this project.”

Background: Black History In Southern Indiana: Racially Restrictive Housing Covenants In Bloomington

The recorder’s office began identifying properties with racial restrictions in their deeds in 2021. Swain, who was elected last November, took over the project from her predecessor Eric Schmitz. She credited the bulk of the work to his administration.

Racially restrictive covenants, or private agreements in a housing deed that a buyer must follow, was common throughout the first half of the 20th century. The map shows the practice lasted up to the mid-1960s in Monroe County.

Properties highlighted in the map have deeds including language restricting property ownership or residency in certain areas to “members of the pure white race,” for example.

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“Restrictive covenants are not uncommon, even today,” Swain said. “The alarming part was that it also restricted who could live there — and that was really what this project dealt with directly.”

The map goes back as far as 1912, covering the earliest land record containing a racially restrictive covenant identified by the recorder’s office to date. Some land records predating 1912 also include discriminatory language, but not as a restriction or rule, according to the recorder’s office.

Racially discriminatory covenants are no longer enforceable, because they were declared illegal by the 1968 federal Fair Housing Act. However, the language remains because housing deeds are legal documents under Indiana law.

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As such, the racially restrictive language cannot be removed or redacted because doing so would interfere with the chain of title in any given property. However, a property owners may add a repudiation statement into a deed in which a racial restriction was previously stated, thanks to a state law enacted in 2021.

Doing so would make it so the deed states the restrictive covenant is invalid and unenforceable. Most modern deeds have this type of statement, but they are not required, according to the recorder’s office.

The language of deeds frequently carries over as properties change hands. The mapping project covers deeds established from 1912 to 2023, so not all deeds listed on the map are current, Swain said.

It’s possible there are more Monroe County property documents with racially restrictive language that the recorder’s office has yet to discover. If more are found, Swain says the map will be updated to reflect them.

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Swain says she hopes the map helps educate the public on the discriminatory housing practices that used to be commonplace.

“It's just kind of a self-check to make sure that you're not being guilty of doing similar things when you go to sell your own property, because everyone deserves a chance,” Swain said. “I mean, we are in America, with those unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — and so we don't want any barriers to those things.”

The map can be accessed online through a direct link or through the Monroe County Recorder’s website.

Residents may use Monroe County’s geographic information system map to determine which subdivision their property belongs to, if applicable.

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