ÁùºÏ±¦µä

The Racist Covenants Research Project

The Racist Covenants Research Project (RCRP) is an inter-disciplinary working group at the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno, housed in the History Department and funded by grants, private donations and state appropriations. Our mission is to document and understand structural racism, beginning with investigating, mapping, interpreting and educating about racist restrictive covenants – provisions in property deeds that historically prevented people of color from owning or occupying homes in neighborhoods of their choice. Our scholarly work as historians, oral historians, geographers, journalists and educators contributes to the State of ÁùºÏ±¦µä’s efforts to redact historically racist language from real estate documents while preserving the record that such racist provisions existed.

Racist covenants, laws against interracial marriage, formal and de-facto segregation in education, occupation, restaurants, lodging and casinos are part of ÁùºÏ±¦µä’s history. Working with academic experts, volunteers and community partners, we seek to explore and interpret the implications of racist practices in the past and to investigate their impact on contemporary conditions, including zoning practices and the racial wealth gap.

Add your voice to the Racist Covenants Research Project

Jake and Lucia sitting around a desk and smiling at the camera.

Our mission

The Racist Covenants Research Oral History Project and the Shared History Program at the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno, seek to record and archive oral histories from members of ÁùºÏ±¦µä’s diverse communities about their experiences with and perspectives on housing, the meaning of home, and community, both historically and in the present.

Who we are

Our team is made up of undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and volunteers. We are passionate about ÁùºÏ±¦µä’s history and its myriad stories.

The project is co-directed by Dr. Jake Dorman and Dr. Christopher von Nagy of the Department of History. Our sister project is housed at the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Las Vegas' Department of History. The RCRP Advisory Board is chaired by Caesar Andrews, Leonard Distinguished Chair in Media Ethics and Writing of the Reynolds School of Journalism.

SB-368

Tens of thousands of property documents across ÁùºÏ±¦µä still contain language prohibiting the sale of their homes to people of color. In 2019 the State of ÁùºÏ±¦µä passed legislation allowing homeowners to renounce racist covenants in their own deeds. Subsequently, in 2023, the State of ÁùºÏ±¦µä passed legislation, SB368, that allows homeowners or organizations to file a court petition to redact racist covenants from property deeds, whether or not the interested party owns the property in question.
*For more details on the SB368 redaction process, consult your local County Recorder.*

SB368 provides funds for both the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno, through the RCRP project and to the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Las Vegas through its sister project to undertake and publish research related to historically racist covenants and the consequences of these covenants on ÁùºÏ±¦µäns.

Mapping work

Working together with our colleagues at the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Las Vegas, we are charged with identifying historically racist covenants across the state of ÁùºÏ±¦µä. In the academic year 2023-2024, with funding from the State of ÁùºÏ±¦µä SB368 and the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, a team of student and faculty researchers documented and mapped more than 6,843 racist covenants in Washoe County alone. In the summer of 2024, our work will take us to neighboring northern ÁùºÏ±¦µän counties. We are committed to providing access to our research to all ÁùºÏ±¦µäns through a publicly accessible database currently under development and underwritten by generous grant funding

Oral historical work

Oral history reveals personal histories and family legacies that provide personal and community perspectives on historical events. In collaboration with University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno’s Shared History program, RCRP researchers are collecting oral histories related to experiences affected by the legacy of historically racist housing practices in ÁùºÏ±¦µä. These oral histories are available to anybody interested in the historical legacy of housing and other discriminatory practices in ÁùºÏ±¦µä through the Shared History Oral History archive and our .

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in the oral history program, please let us know by emailing us at covenants@unr.edu or reach out to the Shared History program at sharedhistory@unr.edu.

Volunteering and interning

ÁùºÏ±¦µä’s history is our shared history. If you or someone you know is interested in contributing through participation as a voluntary researcher or transcriber, please let us know. We enjoy working with community members, and if this project interests you we would be more than happy to discuss opportunities for volunteering and how to get involved with the RCRP! 

High School Internships The RCRP project, in conjunction with the Shared History program, hosts youth interns of high school age who are interested in academic year or summer internships in history projects of public importance. There are opportunities to help with research, to learn to do oral histories, and to participate in the development of public history and educational materials such as documentary films, podcasts and museum exhibits.

For more information

For more information about the project, the availability of project members to present to your class or community organization, or to volunteer or request an application for a high school internship, please feel free to reach out to the project or drop by the Shared History office on the first floor or the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno’s historic Lincoln Hall (Monday through Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) Parking is available on the first floor of Brian J. Whalen Parking Complex.

Racist Covenants Research Project