Removing Racial Covenants in Fairfax County Property Deeds

Saturday, October 26

Find out if your property has racially-exclusive covenant language and receive assistance to have this language removed from your public property deeds.

> SIGN UP AT scottsurovell.org/Oct26

Study Maps Historical Racial Restrictions in Fairfax Property Deeds

The project identifies and geo-locates racially restrictive covenants on properties in Northern Virginia from 1900 through the 1960s. Since the 1968 Fair Housing Act, racial and other discriminatory covenants are no longer enforceable, but such language is still part of many localities’ public land records. In 2020, the Virginia general assembly passed House Bill 788 which prohibits a new deed containing a restrictive covenant from being recorded.

“New research shows that thousands of Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church deeds from the early-to-mid 20th century had language barring people of certain races, nationalities, or religions from buying property.” (https://www.ffxnow.com/2024/05/10/new-study-exposes-racial-restrictions-in-historical-fairfax-and-falls-church-property-deeds/)

“Today’s economic disparities are, in may ways, the legacy of century-old policies that prevented Black and brown families from building equity that could be passed down to future generations. Exclusionary covenants that compelled people of color to seek housing elsewhere also shaped the diversity of our neighborhoods for decades.” (https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/racially-restrictive-housing-neighborhood-covenants-arlington-falls-church-fairfax-virginia/)

The project’s interactive map shows local subdivisions with a history of discriminatory housing covenants that have deed language which exclude specific racial, ethnic, and/or religious groups. The research team is continuing to gather more data for Fairfax County which will be added.

Current landowners can apply to have the restrictive covenants removed from their deed, though a historical reference will remain. To do so, fill out a covenant release form, in accordance with Virginia law, that allows property owners to “release particular unconstitutional and discriminatory covenants from their property.” (https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/racially-restrictive-housing-neighborhood-covenants-arlington-falls-church-fairfax-virginia/)

“Documenting the extent of exclusion in Northern Virginia–in Arlington and Fairfax Counties as well as Falls Church and Alexandria Cities–via web maps enables us to broaden our understanding of the “choices” made regarding where people lived in the past. During this process, we confront a common assumption: that segregated neighborhoods evolved out of a series of individual decisions that led to the creation of homogeneous neighborhoods. By locating the extent to which private action limited housing options for African Americans and others, we hope to help shed light on the systemic versus individual nature of these exclusionary practices across NoVA during the periodization of 1900-1968. These maps underscore the importance of thinking about the local history of housing segregation BOTH systemically AND regionally.”

For more information on racial covenants, visit:
https://documentingexclusion.org/