A 1917 case in which the Supreme Court determined that the city of Louisville, Kentucky violated the Fourteenth Amendment by implementing block-by-block racial zoning laws. As a result of the Buchanan decision, local governments began racially discriminating in subtler ways, for instance by zoning African American neighborhoods for “industrial” development or “toxic waste” dumping, as well as by prohibiting the construction of “apartment buildings in single-family neighborhoods,” which the Supreme Court determined was constitutional. This case shows both the extent and the limits of the Supreme Court’s power to stop racist government policy.
Buchanan v. Warley Quotes in The Color of Law
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Chapter 3
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In the wake of the 1917 Buchanan decision, the enthusiasm of federal officials for economic zoning that could also accomplish racial segregation grew rapidly.
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Chapter 5
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The Supreme Court decision in Shelley v. Kraemer, banning court enforcement of restrictive covenants, had been unanimous, 6-0. Three of the nine justices excused themselves from participating because their objectivity might have been challenged—there were racial restrictions covering the homes in which they lived.
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Buchanan v. Warley Term Timeline in The Color of Law
The timeline below shows where the term Buchanan v. Warley appears in The Color of Law. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: Racial Zoning
In the case Buchanan v. Warley , the Supreme Court blocked Louisville, Kentucky’s segregation ordinance in 1917, deciding that the Fourteenth...
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...but constantly rezoning areas to keep African American people out, St. Louis avoided violating the Buchanan v. Warley ruling. It consistently segregated African American people into “industrial” zones—both the only zones where polluting...
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...that the St. Louis model—“economic zoning that could also accomplish racial segregation” without violating the Buchanan v. Warley decision—spread widely in the 1920s, with support from the federal government, prominent city planners, and...
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