In 1911, a St. Louis, Missouri neighborhood started a racially restrictive covenant in order to prevent African-Americans and Asian-Americans from living in the area. In 1945, the Shelleys, an African-American family, moved in to the neighborhood. Louis Kraemer,who had lived in the house the Shelleys were trying to buy, took them to court in an attempt to enforce their covenant. Since the covenants were socially acceptable at the time, the Shelleys were ordered to vacate the property.
