COVENANT is a new documentary exploring the intersection of racism and real estate. From a history of outright exclusion to contemporary inequality, the film poses questions about ongoing racial divides in this country and how real estate has played a key role in those divides, from the earliest arrival of Europeans in the Americas up until today.
Project Preview
Beginning with the personal story of Lakeshire, Missouri, the whites-only town co-founded by filmmaker Alexis Clements’ grandfather, and from there zooms out to the entire country. The reality is that Lakeshire is similar to countless other communities across the US, and the family histories of many white Americans are populated with individuals who participated in similar efforts.
During this time of deep inequality, breaking down the structures that separate and hold back the vast majority of Americans (including many white Americans), requires an understanding of how the past connects to the present. By understanding the roots of what divides us we can begin to disrupt these unjust cycles.
“We were in a bubble. We stayed in our world. We went to school in that world, we lived in that world, we worked in that world.”
-Linda W. (Alexis’s aunt, who grew up in Lakeshire)
Why this film now?
Where we grow up is a huge determinant of everything from the education we receive to how long we are likely to live. As a recent headline put it: “ZIP Code May Not Be Destiny, But It’s as Hard to Fight as Gravity.” At the center of that gravitational pull is real estate; the creation and control of private property.
Counter to what many think, a study released in 2021 by the University of California, Berkeley, reveals that segregation in housing in the US has grown worse in recent decades. The concentration of resources and hoarding of opportunities is a project that began with European settlers and continues today, particularly in majority white communities. Looking at our history, what has shaped concentrations of wealth and influence, and what role whiteness plays in all of this, will better position us to undertake meaningful change.
Red = “Hazardous” | Yellow = “Definitely Declining”
Blue = “Still Desirable” | Green = “Best”
- 83% of neighborhoods redlined in the 1930s remained highly segregated communities of color as of 2010.
- 81% of US metropolitan areas with over 200,000 residents are more segregated as of 2019 than they were in 1990.
- Household incomes and home values in white neighborhoods are nearly twice as high as those in segregated communities of color.
Source: “The Roots of Structural Racism Project” Gambhir, Menendian & Gailes, University of California, Berkeley
Get in Touch
Alexis Clements
covenantdocumentary@gmail.com
President Washington Image Info (used here under Creative Commons license)