Buchanan v. Warley Civil Rights Victory
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Landmark Civil Rights Victory. In 1914, the Louisville Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance prohibiting a person of one race from living on a block where the majority of residents were of another race. In response, Nat'l Assoc. for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) designed a legal case to test the law. Wm Warley purchased land at 37th & Pflanz from Charles Buchanan but refused to make full payment due to the restriction. When Buchanan sued Warley, KY courts upheld the law. IN 1917, US Supreme Court reversed decision, striking first legal blow against segregated housing. Presented by Portland Museum & Louisville Metro Council, 2017 Dedicated November 29, 2017.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
In 1914 Louisville passed a residential segregation ordinance barring people from moving onto a block where another race was the majority. The NAACP engineered a test case: William Warley agreed to buy a lot from Charles Buchanan, then withheld full payment because the law would forbid him from living there. When the dispute reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1917, the justices struck the ordinance down, delivering the first major legal blow against government-mandated housing segregation.
Why it matters
Buchanan v. Warley proved segregation could be fought and beaten in the courts a full generation before the modern civil rights movement, and it remains a landmark in the long American struggle over where people are allowed to live.
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Related people
- · William Warley
- · Charles Buchanan
Related events
- · Buchanan v. Warley (1917)
Themes & tags
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