Armour Hills formally removes racial covenants
Armour Hills was developed by the iconic J.C. Nichols, who pioneered a unique subdivision model that created today's most cherished neighborhoods. As famous as Nichols is as a pioneer in real estate, he is equally infamous for including exclusive covenants that explicitly excluded Black people, Jews and other oppressed groups from living in his neighborhoods.
These deed restrictions solidified racial segregation in our city. Even after they were declared unenforceable by the supreme court in 1948, patterns established by the covenants, and other racist practices, perpetuated this injustice. And because they were declared unenforceable, and because amending deeds is a difficult process, the necessary steps were never taken to formally remove those restrictions from the deeds of every home in Armour Hills.
While it is true that the restrictions had no impact in the modern context, the pain they caused is still very real in our city today. In the past, Armour Hills Homes Association had not contended fully with how even...