On May 3, 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that racially-restrictive covenants violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, even covenants between private individuals. In Shelley v. Kraemer, the Court overturned a covenant among members of a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri that restricted home sales to only white families.

May 3 is World Press Freedom Day. On May 3, 1845, Macon B. Allen, the first African American to practice law in the United States, was admitted to the Massachusetts bar. Learn more about Allen's admission.