Atlanta Through the Archives

Shelley v. Kraemer US Supreme Court Case

Summary

In 1945, the Shelley family was restricted from purchasing residential property in a St. Louis neighborhood by Louis Kraemer, who had previously owned the home. Thirty of the thirty-nine neighborhood’s residents had signed an agreement in 1911 stating the properties would be restricted to white residents and buyers for the next fifty years. The Shelley family was unaware of the agreement before their purchase and was denied both the home and suit, as the Court found the Equal Protection Clause’s racial discirimination clause did not apply because the neighborhood agreement was a private affair, not one of state.

SOURCES:

Shelley v. Kraemer, 355 Mo. 814, 198 S.W. 2d 679 (1946).