Racial Restrictive Covenants Project: Recent Updates July
Mapping Updates
The Vancouver and Clark County maps are now live on our website! You can view them here.
The maps highlight 1,367 restricted properties in 34 subdivisions.
Accompanying the map is information about Vancouver’s disturbing history of racial segregation. In 1945, a wartime census estimated that 8,825 African Americans lived in Vancouver. After the war, they were pushed out, denied jobs and housing, and forced to leave. Racial restrictive covenants played a role in this concerted effort. You can find more information on the Clark County page of our website.
We’d like to extend our gratitude to Tara Kelly, director of research, and Ulysis Cruz-Antonio, research associate, both from the Racial Restrictive Covenants Project at Eastern Washington University, for their assistance with the Clark County data. Ulysis’ work scouring the original volumes of Clark County property deeds and Tara’s work acquiring digital copies from the Clark County Auditor were instrumental in the completion of these maps. Thank you both!
Cowlitz Archival Research
In the past few weeks, project coordinator Amanda Miller and research associates Sophie Belz, Ella Gouran, and Isabel Smith have traveled to the Washington State Archives in Olympia to begin research on Cowlitz County, a small county in southwest Washington bordering Oregon.
So far, the project has:
Looked through 175 volumes of property deeds between the 1930s through the 1960s
Discovered 892 documents with racial restrictions
Discovered 34 full-subdivision restrictions
Covenants Homeownership Program Launches!
On July 1, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission officially launched the Covenant Homeownership Program. A special purpose credit program that will assist low-income families impacted by the state’s history of racially restrictive covenants and other forms of housing discrimination in purchasing homes.
“This is a proud moment for the Commission and for Washington state. Today we make the promise of the Covenant Homeownership Act a reality for homebuyers,” said Nicole Bascomb-Green, chair of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, in a press release.
“Redlining, racist covenants, and other kinds of state-supported discrimination denied thousands of families in Washington the opportunity to own a home and build wealth for their families,” she added. “This program finally takes a step toward righting those wrongs by creating a new path to homeownership.”
To find out more about the program, check out the program’s website.
Homebuyers can access the Covenant program, as well as other financial help and support, via the state Homeownership Hotline: 877-894-4663
Community Meetings
We would like to thank the following groups for inviting us to meet with them and present our research on the history of segregation in Western Washington and the role of restrictive covenants. We are always excited to present our research, train people to volunteer with us, and engage in community events. For inquiries, please reach out to us at wacovenants@gmail.com.
Amazon and Davis Wright Tremaine
St Paul's Episcopal Church in Bremerton
Welcoming New Staff Members!
Ella Gouran [Research Associate]
Ella Gouran studies History at the University of Washington with a concentration on Race, Gender, and Power. She is particularly interested in environmental history and how histories of the environment shape the present. As a research associate, she is involved in research, data management, and community outreach.
Welcome to the team!
Volunteer Updates
We now have 1,422 Zooniverse volunteers assisting us. Your recent work has contributed greatly to our ability to complete the Vancouver and Clark County maps. Thank you!
If you would like to contribute to the project, please check out the Volunteer page on our website. Transcribing documents on our Zooniverse page is a remote, easily accessible way to earn service hours while contributing to a ground-breaking research project. Email us at wacovenants@gmail.com with proof of your volunteer time, and we will happily sign off on hours!
Learn More About the Project
Racial Restrictive Covenants Project Website
Racial Restrictive Covenants Instagram