Written by Linnea Wacker-Sprague, Youth at Church of the Ascension Seattle
The Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Seattle recently conducted a project to identify property deeds containing racially restrictive covenants, map the neighborhood areas where deeds contained these harmful prohibitions, and offer deed-holders an opportunity to amend their documents to nullify the covenants while acknowledging the historical wrongdoing of the practice. This project grew out of the parish’s mission to heal broken relationships that separate people and the land.
First, we faced our history. In the 1920s through the 1940s, some Magnolia properties were subjected to restrictive racial and religious covenants imposed by real estate companies and developers. The covenants which explicitly excluded people from home ownership based on race and religion left a legacy that shaped Magnolia’s demographics and access to housing for generations. The deeds had a clause that with this or similar language: “No person or persons of Asiatic, African or Negro blood, lineage, or extraction shall be permitted to occupy a portion of said property.” Although racial covenants were legally null following passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the language above is still present on many deeds.
Next, our church worked in partnership with the Magnolia Community Council and the Magnolia Historical Society to create community events to bolster awareness. Ascension held information sessions, staffed booths at farmers markets and summer fairs and met neighbors during Block Parties. Notaries were offered at every event, making it possible for language to be added to deeds that formally nullified the restrictive language while recognizing the deep harm of the covenant.
Together the Magnolia neighborhood is working to correct wrongs and hold fast to values of fairness, respect and love for one another.
To learn more about the racially restrictive covenants project or the history of racially restrictive covenants in Magnolia, you can visit the Magnolia Community Council at: https://magnoliacommunitycouncil.com/racial-restrictive-covenants-project. For more information about racially restrictive convenants in Seattle and the the greater King County area, visit the University of Washington Racial Covenants Project at https://depts.washington.edu/covenants/.