With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Bush's New Neighborhood Barred Non-Whites Until 2000

Until 2000, the neighborhood association's covenant said only white people were allowed to live there, though an exception was made for servants.

As was reported this week, George Bush has bought a new house in a wealthy part of Dallas, called Preston Hollow, to live in after he leaves office. Preston Hollow homeowners are used to having well-known neighbors; the area is already home to Dallas Mavericks' owner Marc Cuban and former presidential candidate Ross Perot. And while many of the Bushes' new neighbors seem perfectly happy and excited to welcome the former first couple, a few of them, reports the Wall Street Journal, have some significant reservations:

"The impending presence of a former President is ratcheting up security fears. 'I am afraid with all the negative press the president has been getting, the whole neighborhood is going to be a target,' said a woman, who wouldn't give her name. She carried her King Charles spaniel Friday past the Bushes' new abode."

But Raw Story reports that the area had some issues long before Bush made it his new home.

Until 2000, the neighborhood association's covenant said only white people were allowed to live there, though an exception was made for servants. The document, enacted in 1956, reads:

"Said property shall be used and occupied by white persons only except these covenants shall not prevent occupancy by domestic servants of different race or nationality in the employ of a tenant."


Read entire article at AlterNet blog