Reference no: EM133683213

Question 

As described by the Supreme Court in Shelley v. Kraemer, the neighborhood district described in the racially restrictive covenant that allegedly burdened the Shelley's land" *included fifty-seven parcels of land. The thirty owners who signed the agreement held title to forty-seven parcels, including the particular parcel involved in this case. At the time the agreement was signed, five of the parcels in the district were owned by Negroes. One of those had been occupied by Negro families since 1882, nearly thirty years before the restrictive agreement was executed. The trial court found that owners of seven out of nine homes on the south side of Labadie Avenue, within the restricted district and "in the immediate vicinity" of the premises in question, had failed to sign the restrictive agreement in 1911. At the time this action was brought, four of the premises were occupied by Negroes, and had been so occupied for periods ranging from twenty-three to sixty-three years. A fifth parcel had been occupied by Negroes until a year before this suit was instituted. While the Supreme Court decided against enforcement of the restrictive covenant on constitutional grounds, discuss whether or not this restriction could have been enforced under either.