Unlocking the Gates: How the North Star State Pioneered Structural Housing Discrimination in America

In 1948, a young couple set out to do what was considered a rite of passage for many middle-class Americans at the time – they bought land in a leafy suburb, built their dream home and left the city. James and Frances Hughes had no idea that their move to this part of Minnesota would motivate segregationists to ramp up housing restrictions.

In this Black History Month special from Marketplace Morning Report, host Lee Hawkins investigates how a secret nighttime business deal unlocked the gates of a community called Maplewood for dozens of Black families seeking better housing, schools, and safer neighborhoods — his own family included. Hawkins returns to the place where he grew up to discover that state officials were instrumental in the practice of adding clauses to property deeds specifying that it could be held only by white people. These clauses or covenants as they are known, set the stage for other kinds of discrimination including redlining, which has exacerbated the racial wealth gap.

“Unlocking The Gates” highlights the stories of families collaborating and overcoming discrimination in real estate and banking. They include executives, entrepreneurs, musicians, at least one NFL star and a former US Presidential hopeful. Many have inherited wealth from property investments and have been able to establish financial security for their families. It reports on state officials and business leaders working to address inequity that keeps people locked out of the property market.