The history of racial restrictive covenants is fascinating, especially since Shelley v. Kraemer, which struck them down in the Supreme Court, was coargued by Loren Miller, an Angeleno who published the
California Eagle and also argued the "Sugar Hill" case in 1945 wherein Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, Ethel Walters et al. were allowed to keep their homes.
I read on one site that these covenants really came into being in 1917. Los Angeles, always on the forefront, though...here's something from my files...makes for some chilling reading.