Prior to Shelly v. Kraemer, it was common for neighborhoods in the United States to have racially restrictive covenants, which prohibited the sale or rental of property to certain racial groups. These covenants were often used to keep African Americans out of white neighborhoods. In 1945, J.D. Shelly, an African American man, purchased a home in a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, that had a racially restrictive covenant. The property owners in the neighborhood sued Shelly, arguing that the covenant prohibited him from owning the property.
The case made its way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Shelly. The Court held that racially restrictive covenants were not enforceable by state courts because they violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court reasoned that the covenants were discriminatory and that they deprived African Americans of their right to equal protection under the law.
The decision in Shelly v. Kraemer was a major step forward in the fight for civil rights in the United States. It helped to break down the legal barriers that prevented African Americans from owning homes in white neighborhoods and paved the way for the desegregation of housing. The decision also inspired other legal challenges to discriminatory practices, such as segregation in schools and public accommodations.
Shelly v. Kraemer is considered one of the most important Supreme Court cases in the history of civil rights. It was a landmark decision that helped to change the course of American history and made a significant contribution to the struggle for racial equality in the United States.