Mapping Segregation in DC: Racial Covenants in Northwest and Southeast

Learn about a project begun in 2014 to document the former extent of racially restricted housing in DC along with other historic mechanisms of segregation and racialized displacement. Covenants laid the basis for demographic patterns reinforced by exclusionary zoning, redlining, and unequal investment. They helped make residential segregation the norm. Audience members will be invited to sign up for helping map covenants in Southeast and Northwest DC, including Ward 3. 

Led by Historian Sarah Jane Shoenfeld, co-founder of the public history project Mapping Segregation in Washington DC and a member of Undesign the Redline DC’s Community Advisory Group.

This program is presented in association with Undesign the Redline, an exhibit created by Designing the We that explores the history of explicit race-based exclusion, specifically in upper Northwest DC. The exhibit helps us understand why inequities in housing and wealth persist, and encourages us to ask how we can “undesign” these wrongs. Suitable for middle-school aged children and older. Undesign the Redline is on display from April 11-July 11, 2024 at the Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library, 3310 Connecticut Avenue, NW. Find the schedule of other programs and learn more at undesigndc.org.

Host or Publisher Undesign the Redline Sponsors & Planning Team