Final answer:
The racially restrictive covenant included in the 1955 deeds by Williams is a discriminatory practice that was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948. Such covenants contributed to segregation in housing, although other discriminatory practices, like redlining and mortgage discrimination, continued to perpetuate segregation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The deed restriction that Williams included in the deeds in 1955, which limited property ownership to persons of the Caucasian race, is known as a restrictive covenant. Restrictive covenants are clauses in property deeds that impose limitations on the use, occupancy, or transfer of property. In the context of mid-20th century America, many of these covenants were racially discriminatory and were used to segregate communities. Although the U.S. Supreme Court declared such covenants unconstitutional in 1948, discriminatory practices in housing continued through other means, such as redlining and mortgage discrimination.
Following the 1917 Supreme Court decision in Buchanan v. Warley, which made segregation laws unconstitutional, and especially after the 1948 decision that restrictive covenants were also unconstitutional, racially restrictive covenants like the one implemented by Williams became unenforceable. However, their legacy contributed to the segregated housing patterns that still affect American society. Spot zoning and mortgage discrimination are examples of other discriminatory practices that evolved to maintain housing segregation regardless of the formal legal status of restrictive covenants.