Which case addressed the enforceability of racially restrictive covenants in private deeds?

• A. Shelley v. Kraemer
• B. Plessy v. Ferguson
• C. Buchanan v. Warley
• D. Brown v. Board

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is whether courts can enforce racial restrictions in private property deeds. In Shelley v. Kraemer, the Supreme Court held that although private racially restrictive covenants could exist, state courts cannot enforce them. The key point is that enforcement by a state court amounts to state action, and that action violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. So the case directly addresses whether such covenants can be legally enforced, making it the best answer.

Plessy v. Ferguson dealt with public segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine, not the enforceability of private deed restrictions. Buchanan v. Warley involved a city ordinance restricting where Black people could buy property, raising issues about government action and private contracts but not the specific issue of enforcing covenants in private deeds. Brown v. Board of Education concerns school desegregation, not private deed restrictions.