Minneapolis Has A Bold Plan To Tackle Racial Inequity. Now It Has To Follow Through

When Kirsten Delegard's grandparents bought their first house in south Minneapolis in 1941, they signed the property's deed, as is standard for any homebuyer.

But the deed came with this line: "No person or persons other than of the Caucasian race shall be permitted to occupy said premises or any part thereof."

That language, known as a "racial covenant," barred any non-white resident from buying or living in the property. Such covenants were attached to tens of thousands homes across Minneapolis, carving inequity directly into the city's map and creating a foundation for one of the biggest racial wealth gaps of any major American city.

In January, months before George Floyd's killing thrust racial inequity into the spotlight, Minneapolis enacted an ambitious plan in an attempt to address it. It changed land zoning citywide, acknowledging that the history of covenants created housing inequities that persist to this day.

Minneapolis eliminated single-family zoning, becoming the first major American city to do so.