Thousands of Seattle area homeowners’ land deeds still say “white only” on them – IOTW Report

Thousands of Seattle area homeowners’ land deeds still say “white only” on them

I look forward to the day where people will be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin, and communities will write into their deeds NO LAZY ASS PROGRESSIVES, LOOKING TO TAKE MY STUFF,  ALLOWED.

SeattleTimes-

Covenants restricting ownership by race were ruled unenforceable by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948, and housing discrimination was made illegal by Congress in 1968 under the Fair Housing Law. Even though the covenants cannot be enforced, they’re often a shock to homeowners who read their deeds or research their house’s history.

That’s what happened to Pam Transue’s niece, who moved here from Baltimore with her husband and son. The family was delighted with the house they found in Tacoma. But when they began to sign the closing documents, they discovered covenants that restricted ownership to whites only.

Transue’s niece — who didn’t want to be quoted by name is white, her husband is Japanese-American and their adopted son is Korean-American.

“What a horrible thing to have to read for anybody,” said Transue, a former president of Tacoma Community College. “You talk to people and they say, ‘It’s not enforceable,’ but that’s not the point. The point is, this is wrong. It’s still there on the books, and it’s wrong.”

Restrictive covenants on race were commonly written into deeds across the nation after 1926, the year that the U.S. Supreme Court initially found them to be lawful, said UW history professor James Gregory.

… a woman who lived in a Clyde Hill subdivision found that the deed to her property, written in 1947, restricted ownership to “Aryans only.” That restriction was written two years after Hitler’s death during World War II, and after the horrors of the Holocaust had become known, Gregory said.

The covenants can’t ever be completely removed, because they are part of the property record. The legislation “simply gives the property owner the power and right to add, essentially, a statement that declares that this is obnoxious and null and void,” Gregory said.

“I’m not sure we want to get rid of them,” he said. “They’re part of history. They should be acknowledged. Not hidden.”

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12 Comments on Thousands of Seattle area homeowners’ land deeds still say “white only” on them

  1. I’m not sure we want to get rid of them. They’re part of history. They should be acknowledged. Not hidden. Hmmmm, probably some Confederate statues who feel the same way.

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  2. Oh for petessake.

    People who can’t find anything real to complain about.

    You’d think they’d be thrilled to discover hard evidence of past “systemic racism.”

    Since the past can’t be changed, I’m waiting for what comes next… a real property tax deduction? another kind of “reparation”?

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  3. “I’m not sure we want to get rid of them,” he said. “They’re part of history. They should be acknowledged. Not hidden.”

    Well that’s mighty white of you. Any chance we could get the same consideration for Confederate statues? 😳

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  4. “What a horrible thing to have to read for anybody,” said Transue, a former president of Tacoma Community College. “You talk to people and they say, ‘It’s not enforceable,’ but that’s not the point. The point is, this is wrong. It’s still there on the books, and it’s wrong.”

    Bastard is just fine with Woodrow Wilson High School, named in honor of the most virulent racist/segregationist President since reconstruction. Woodrow Wilson High School is only a short walk from Tacoma Community College

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