Racial restrictive covenants were legal property agreements used by homeowners in the United States during the first half of the 20th century to prohibit non-white buyers from purchasing or leasing property. While the enforcement of racial covenants has been unconstitutional for nearly 80 years, recent evidence from San Jose suggests covenants remain stalwart enforcers of racial segregation.

Compared to neighborhoods without racial restrictions, neighborhoods in San Jose with historic racial covenants had dramatically fewer Asian and Black residents in 2020. Use the map to explore how racial covenants may have altered the demographic trends of 57 San Jose neighborhoods from 1940 to 2020.

This map is a companion piece to a report documenting the long-term effects of racial restrictive covenants. To read more about covenants, click here.