The Laws family awaits their housing discrimination trial, ca. 194, Los Angeles.

The Laws family at the court room door. Left to right: Anton Fears, son-in-law; Pauletta Fears, daughter, and wife of Anton; Anna Laws; and Henry Laws. The Laws family fought, and eventually won, a lengthy legal battle to remain in the home they owned at 1235 E. 92nd Street in Los Angeles. In 1942, the family was told that African Americans were barred from living in the neighborhood and were ordered to move. But the Laws refused to leave and waited as the issue was argued in various courts. Eventually, Pauletta and her parents were sent to jail for disobeying a court order requiring them to vacate their home. But they were able to remain in their home after the U.S. Supreme Court on May 3, 1948, ruled that racially restrictive covenants were unenforceable. The Laws' case, commonly called the "92nd Street Outrage," was one of the most publicized examples of the evils of restrictive covenants, which barred African Americans and other minorities from buying or renting homes.

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