Hundreds of discriminatory restrictive covenants in North Shore communities are being addressed by officials. The Southern Essex Registry of Deeds has recorded its first affidavits to remove such language from property deeds. Approximately 600 deeds identified by Harborlight Homes and the North Shore NAACP contain overtly racist language. Legal interns contributed to identifying an additional 200 deeds. The initiative aims to acknowledge past harm and promote inclusivity by cleansing historical documents of discriminatory terms.
"Intentional harm demands acknowledgment and intentional repair," State Sen. Lydia Edwards said.
"Today we recorded the first 13 affidavits, marking the beginning of our process of cleaning every dirty deed in our district," Duff said July 21.
Andrew DeFranza, the executive director of Harborlight Homes, said his organization worked with the NAACP to use a University of Minnesota algorithm to search for discriminatory language in the deeds.
While the language isn't enforceable, DeFranza said the project's goal is to remove the language while acknowledging its significance.
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