Mapping Prejudice

Mapping Prejudice
Founded2016 (2016)
Focusidentifies and maps racial covenants
Location
Key people
  • Kirsten Delegard (Director); Penny Petersen (Property Records); Kevin Ehrman-Solberg (Co-Founder)[1]
Volunteers7,900[2]
Websitemappingprejudice.umn.edu

Mapping Prejudice is based at the John R. Borchert Map Library of the University of Minnesota Libraries.[3] The project originally searched property records in Hennepin County, identified racial covenants that were made in order to stop non-Whites from purchasing certain properties, and plotted the results of them on digital maps.

Researchers think that although racial covenants were long understood as unjust, many white Americans came to view them as irrelevant historical artifacts after they were outlawed. However, as the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act approached, the Mapping Prejudice team recognized that revisiting these documents could reveal how structural racism persisted in Minneapolis, foster public learning, and build momentum for meaningful housing justice.[4]

Their focus began with Minneapolis. The project has grown to include Ramsey County, Minnesota;[5] Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Dakota County, Minnesota;[6] Stearns County, Minnesota,[7] and Anoka County, Minnesota.[6][8] Founded in 2016, Mapping Prejudice was inspired by work at universities[9] in Seattle[10] and Virginia.[11]

Process of Making the Map

The Mapping Prejudice project produced its dataset through a two-stage process that combined digital tools with sustained community involvement. In the first stage, the research team applied optical character recognition to millions of digitized property deeds to locate language that could indicate the presence of racially restrictive covenants. In the second stage, these flagged records were examined, verified, and transcribed by thousands of volunteers, most of them residents of the Twin Cities, who contributed through the Zooniverse platform. To recruit and support participants, the project hosted more than 200 in-person transcription sessions in partnership with neighborhood associations, churches, housing justice organizations, and local businesses. From 2016 to 2019, the team published regularly updated versions of the Hennepin County covenant map online, enabling volunteers to observe the project's development over time and reinforcing the project's commitment to transparency and community ownership.[12]

Awards Received

The project, along with Hennepin County, received the 2021 Freedom of Information award from the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information (MNCOGI).[13] In October 2025, Mapping Prejudice was recognized as a W. K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award Exemplary Project. As of the award date, "over 11,000 students, faculty, staff, and community members have mapped over 50,000 racial covenants. Mapping Prejudice has transformed scholarly research by engaging community members in the creation of new knowledge of urban history in the United States."[14]

References

  1. ^ Uren, Adam (June 15, 2021). "Tributes after sudden death of University of Minnesota's Mapping Prejudice Project co-founder". Bring Me The News. Arena Group. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  2. ^ "About Mapping Prejudice". University of Minnesota. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  3. ^ "Partners and Funders". University of Minnesota. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  4. ^ Mattke, Ryan; Delegard, Kirsten; Leebaw, Danya (June 14, 2022). "Mapping Prejudice: The Map Library as a Hub for Community Co-Creation and Social Change". Journal of Map & Geography Libraries. doi:10.1080/15420353.2022.2076006?scroll=top&needAccess=true. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022.
  5. ^ "New map highlights racist home deeds in Ramsey County". MPR News. June 15, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Tribune, Randy Furst Star. "Deeds barred home buyers of color in parts of Dakota County". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  7. ^ Maurice, Jim (February 11, 2025). "Mapping Prejudice Project Granted Access to Stearns Co. Records". AM 1240 WJON. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
  8. ^ "Restrictive Covenants - Mapping Prejudice Project | Anoka County, MN - Official Website". www.anokacountymn.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  9. ^ Delegard, Kirsten; Leebaw, Danya (May 11, 2022). "How a Minneapolis public history project is building political will to redress racial housing disparities". Brookings Institution. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  10. ^ "Racial Restrictive Covenants". Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project. University of Washington. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  11. ^ "About Mapping Inequality". Digital Scholarship Lab. University of Richmond. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  12. ^ Walker, Rebecca H.; Derickson, Kate D. (September 15, 2022). "Mapping Prejudice". Journal of the American Planning Association. 89 (4): 459–471. doi:10.1080/01944363.2022.2112743. ISSN 0194-4363. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023.
  13. ^ "Mapping Prejudice Project, Hennepin County receive award". Hennepin County Climate Action. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  14. ^ "2025 W. K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Awards". Engagement Scholarship Consortium. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
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