Did segregation in Milwaukee just “happen”? Or was it planned?
In this powerful episode of The 411 Live, Beverly Taylor sits down with UW-Milwaukee researchers Dr. Anne Bonds and Dr. Derek Handley, along with volunteer Mary Roberts, to uncover the truth behind more than 32,000 racially restrictive covenants discovered across Milwaukee County.
These weren’t rumors.
They were written into property deeds.
And they shaped generational wealth, housing access, and segregation in Milwaukee.
This groundbreaking project, Mapping Racism and Resistance in Milwaukee County, reveals how intentional housing discrimination helped create the racial wealth gap we still see today.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- What racially restrictive covenants actually said
- How segregation in Milwaukee was intentional and policy-driven
- The connection between housing discrimination and today’s racial wealth gap
- Why removing covenants from deeds may erase important history
- How federal funding cuts impacted the project
- Why understanding this history is critical for moving forward
[00:02:03] What Are Racial Covenants? Dr. Anne Bonds explains how racist clauses were embedded into property deeds, restricting who could live on the land.
[00:05:06] 32,506 Covenants Discovered: The Shocking Numbers Researchers reveal there were three times more covenants than Black residents in the 1930s.
[00:06:04] Volunteers Read 5 Million Documents Mary Roberts shares the emotional impact of transcribing dehumanizing language that compared people of color to livestock.
[00:17:04] How to Look Up Your Own Address on the Map
Learn how you can search your neighborhood and see whether your property had a racial covenant.
[00:19:36] The Wealth Gap Connection & Why It Still Matters Today How housing discrimination directly impacts generational wealth, school funding, and why Milwaukee remains one of the most segregated cities in America.
Explore the Map Yourself
Search “Mapping Racism and Resistance UWM” in your browser to access the interactive map. https://sites.uwm.edu/mappingracismresistance/ Zoom into your neighborhood, view covenant language, see when it was enacted, and learn the historical context behind your property.
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