Shelley v. Kraemer was a landmark Supreme Court case decided in 1948 that struck down racially restrictive housing covenants as unconstitutional. The case was brought by H.D. Shelley, a Black man who had purchased a home in St. Louis, Missouri, but was prevented from living there due to a racial covenant that restricted the property to white residents only.

The Supreme Court ruled that state enforcement of racially restrictive housing covenants violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, even though the covenants themselves were private agreements. The decision marked an important victory in the fight against housing discrimination and segregation, although it did not immediately end discriminatory practices in real estate.

Shelley v. Kraemer is significant in Black history as it helped pave the way for further legal challenges to segregation and discrimination in housing and provided a legal basis for the Civil Rights Movement's efforts to dismantle racial barriers in housing and real estate.