An Empire Built on Racial Prejudice: Tracking the Spread of Walter B. Perkins’ Racial Covenants Throughout the United States

Author: Sharif Zaky

Field of Study: Arts and Humanities

Program Affiliation: Source Project Research Program

Faculty Mentors: Wendy Wall

Easel: 78

Timeslot: Afternoon

Abstract: At the turn of the twentieth century, American newspapers from Missouri to Massachusetts began advertising property sold by Walter B. Perkins, a developer who included racial covenants in properties he sold. Racially restrictive covenants are clauses written into property deeds prohibiting the sale or rental of property to people who were not considered white. Scholars have examined the widespread use of racial covenants within cities, but have devoted comparatively little attention to their spread between cities. This study traces Perkins’ role in the spread of racial covenants across the U.S. by searching newspapers for Perkins’ property’s advertisements and then searching property records for racial covenants. This paper seeks to determine not just the cities to which Perkins brought covenants, but also their public reception and the subsequent reputation of Perkins’ company within these cities.