Hacking into History: Discovering Racial Covenants in Durham Property Deeds

The School of Library and Information Sciences Library at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), in partnership with DataWorks NC and the Durham County Register of Deeds, will organize and host two community data-centric workshops focused on exploring the history of racial covenant clauses contained in Durham’s property deed records.

Workshop 1 will train community members to participate in the assessment, identification and transcription of racially encoded language found in public record property deeds obtained from the Durham County Register of Deeds. Workshop 2 will focus on literacy efforts to educate community members on the history and impact of exclusionary zoning on Durham neighborhoods, mapping georeferenced racial covenant property deeds alongside previously obtained HOLC redlining documentation.