Shelley v. Kraemer: Supreme Court Bars Court Enforcement of Racial Covenants

In Shelley v. Kraemer (1948), the Supreme Court unanimously rules that state courts cannot enforce racially restrictive covenants in property deeds. The case arises when J.D. Shelley, a Black man, purchases a home in St. Louis with a covenant barring non-Caucasian occupancy and is sued by neighbor Louis Kraemer. Thurgood Marshall argues the case. The ruling is significant but limited: private parties can still agree not to sell to Black buyers; courts simply cannot enforce those agreements. Real estate agents and neighborhood associations continue operating informal exclusion systems.