What To Do With Racial Deed Covenants Plays Out In Washington's Highest Court

Realtor: Yeah, the uhh... prior owners had Jefferson vibes. But look at the patio!

(Image via iStock)

Today’s contemporary reminder of why CRT is a thing: the Washington Supreme Court is going to decide on what to do with deeds involving historic racial covenants. Homeowner Alex May wanted an employee of Spokane County to remove the ban preventing anyone who is not white from using or occupying “any building on any lot.”

May is not the holder of a sui generis deed — racial covenants and their subtler cousin redlining have created and helped maintain racial inequality for generations. Public schools depend heavily on taxes based on homeownership. Where people were able to live and buy homes directly impacts us today. And when we talk about it, if we can talk about it, it helps to be able to point to and read the documents that record our racist legacy. And while there is already a remedy that allows for the covenant to be stricken out, May is concerned that it does not do enough to right the public record of the deeds.

Possession of a deed like this is interesting because the right answer, whatever it is, has to balance the importance of cleaning up our mistakes with paying homage, reverence, and reparations to the way of life the stain attests to.

Whatever happens, please just keep Kay Ivey away from it.

Washington Supreme Court Weighing Fate Of Racist Covenants In Spokane Home Deeds [The Seattle Times]


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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. Before that, he wrote columns for an online magazine named The Muse Collaborative under the pen name Knehmo. He endured the great state of Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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