Just Deeds

As a Just Deeds Coalition participant, the City of Bloomington is working with volunteer experts to help the 500 owners of Bloomington properties with discriminatory covenants discharge the covenants from the property’s legal title. These discriminatory covenants were once used to keep people of color from buying houses in many Minnesota neighborhoods. The result was a century of segregated communities.

Bloomington discriminatory covenants were established between 1923 and 1951 and are not legally enforceable under current laws. Most property owners are likely unaware of their existence.

The City of Bloomington is working to spread awareness about this and other discriminatory practices from Minnesota's past and to discharge any such covenants on City-owned land. Together, we can acknowledge this and other forms of discrimination, discharge these covenants and build a foundation for more inclusive communities.

Map of discriminatory covenants established in Bloomington

Click the map image below to access an interactive map that identifies properties in Bloomington with discriminatory covenants in their titles. Search for your property by typing in the address or by zooming in on your neighborhood. Discriminatory covenants are highlighted on the map. Find out more information about a discriminatory covenant by clicking on it.

Map data courtesy the University of Minnesota through its Mapping Prejudice Project.

Discharge assistance

Discharging a covenant can take as a little as an hour at no cost to a private property owner.

If you determine from the map above that your property may have a discriminatory covenant, visit blm.mn/justdeeds-register to register for assistance to discharge the covenant from your property's legal title.

For a property to be eligible for the Bloomington Just Deeds project, it must be located within the geographical boundaries of the City of Bloomington. Once registered, the City will forward your information to a volunteer lawyer who will contact you directly about your property.

If your property is determined to have a discriminatory covenant, the volunteer lawyer will work with you to retrieve a copy of the discriminatory covenant, draft the requisite discharge form which all property owners must sign, and file the discharge form against the property’s legal title. 

Resolution

On May 6, 2021, the Bloomington Human Rights Commission and Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council approve a resolution to work with the Just Deeds Coalition on community education about discriminatory covenants along with discharge of such covenants. On June 28, 2021, the City Council unanimously approved the resolution.

Get involved

• Learn more about the history and impacts of discriminatory covenants and other forms of structural racism at justdeeds.org and by watching the PBS documentary "Jim Crow of the North."
  
• For additional information about this project in Bloomington, please see the Just Deeds toolkit.
• Access information on how to start a community conversation in your neighborhood on race and housing, please visit the facilitator guide.