Baltimore’s 1910 Law That Forced Black and White Residents Apart

In 1910, the Baltimore City Council passed a city ordinance that legally enforced racial segregation in residential neighborhoods. The law restricted where Black and White residents were allowed to live, shaping housing patterns that would influence American cities for decades. This moment marked one of the earliest uses of local government to formalize racial separation through housing policy—long before redlining became a national practice. Understanding this history helps explain how segregation was built into the structure of American cities.