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Post-Racial My A**: Neighborhood In Seattle Only Allows White People To Own Property

Source: MENAHEM KAHANA / Getty ‘White Owners Only’ Homes In Seattle It’s almost the year 2020 and we’re still dealing with racism like it’s 1920. A woman who moved from Baltimore to Tacoma, Washington with her husband and son was excited with the house she’d found in the Seattle area — that was until she read the fine print on the deed. According to the Seattle Times , “when the couple began to sign the closing documents, they discovered covenants that restricted ownership to whites only.” The woman is white, but her husband is Japanese-American and their adopted son is Korean-American. UW history professor James Gregory said, “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. The most restrictive covenants are attached to individual properties not governed by homeowners’ associations [so] they can’t ever be completely removed, because they are part of the property record. I’m not sure we want to get rid of them. They’re part of history. They should be acknowledged. Not hidden.” No word on whether or not the unidentified woman signed the deed. But as of Jan. 1, a new law allows you to file a request with the county auditor striking the discriminatory language from your deed. Thoughts?

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Post-Racial My A**: Neighborhood In Seattle Only Allows White People To Own Property