Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 392 U.S. 409 (1968)

Plaintiffs who were African-American applied to purchase a home from defendant, who rejected them solely on the basis of their race. Plaintiffs sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1982. The Court held that Congress intended to prohibit private acts of racial discrimination in real estate transactions under § 1982 and that the law was supported by the Thirteenth Amendment.

This statute was intended to prohibit all race and color discrimination in the sale and rental of property, including governmental and private discrimination. The case is helpful in understanding pre-Fair Housing discrimination. The decision explains the difference between the 1866 Civil Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act.