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Recently, the Washington Court of Appeals denied a Spokane homeowner’s request to strike racist language from his home’s deed. This language specifies that “[n]o race or nationality other than the white race shall use or occupy” this property (except those employed as staff by the owner). The goal of this “racially restrictive covenant” was to prevent people of color from owning homes in the Comstock neighborhood and other Spokane neighborhoods with similar restrictions. Even though this racist restriction has long been illegal, a coalition of supporters in Spokane has rallied around the lawsuit to remove the language. They see these obsolete racial covenants as “monuments” to American racism and White supremacy. This effort to modify property deeds seems commendable, yet it risks overshadowing the larger historical significance of racial covenants and their consequences, which still shape Spokane today. ....