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Mapping segregated housing and resistance in Milwaukee

People Marching
Courtesy of Milwaukee Public Library
/
Milwaukee Public Library
Milwaukee’s Black community rallies to demand open housing during a late-1960s gathering at St. Boniface Catholic Church.

Two UWM researchers are uncovering the history of covenants language added to deeds stipulating that only white people could own or live on a property. Covenants were commonplace by the turn of the 20th century. Their use declined in the 1950s when they were no longer enforceable, though covenants did help to shape what housing in Milwaukee looks like today.

On this episode of Curious Campus, we talk with Anne Bonds, associate professor of geography, and Derek Handley, assistant professor of English, about their project, “Mapping Racism and Resistance in Milwaukee County.” They’re studying the history and impact of covenants, as well as the precedent that protests to covenants set for today’s racial equity movements.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee produces the <i>UWM Chancellor’s Report</i> and <i>Curious Campus</i>, a show about science, discovery and culture.