The case of Shelley vs. Kraemer dates back to 1945, when the family of J.D. Shelley purchased a home in a St. Louis neighborhood that had apparently been under a restrictive covenant. This meant that white families in the area had a clause in their real estate contracts stating that no family with “Negro or Mongolian” descent could reside in the neighborhood.
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/22157
