Susan Hansen, Oral History Interview on West Hartford, July 22, 2011

Susan Hansen (born 1957) responds to a racially restrictive covenant in her suburban neighborhood, inserted by the real estate developer in the 1940s, which prohibited non-whites from residing in many of the homes in her present-day neighborhood. She reflects on her decision to move into West Hartford in the 1990s for its public school system, and the advice she received from friends and coworkers to buy a home only on the north side of the town. She also discusses the historical value of finding these restrictive covenants and emphasizes the need to teach this often-forgotten aspect of the North's history of racial segregation in history classrooms. Created by Jack Dougherty and contributors for <a href="http://OnTheLine.trincoll.edu/">On the Line.</a>