Historically, racially restrictive covenants were legal agreements written into property deeds and plat maps, prohibiting people of certain racial and ethnic backgrounds from owning or occupying properties. This practice was part of a broader system of racial segregation that persisted throughout the early and mid-20th centuries in the United States. Although the Supreme Court declared these covenants unenforceable in 1948 and rendered them illegal by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, their remnants persist in property records today.

The Eastern Washington University (EWU) Racial Covenants Project is a groundbreaking research initiative that emerged from a need to address historical racial injustices embedded in property records. The project formally began in late 2021/early 2022, following the passage of Washington State’s SHB 1335.This important piece of legislation assigned EWU and the University of Washington (UW) the task of locating and informing homeowners of racially restrictive property covenants recorded in property documents.