As his final official act as Register of Deeds, John O’Brien has recorded a Register’s Notice referencing over 500 properties in Essex County that have been identified as containing racial covenants within their chain of title. O’Brien said after hearing about the “Dirty Deeds” project, a collaboration between Harborlight Homes, a Beverly-based affordable housing non-profit, and North Shore Chapter NAACP in identifying racial language in recorded deeds, I immediately reached out, offering my assistance.
Through the mid-20th century, racial covenants barred targeted groups of people from buying property in selected neighborhoods. My office has worked diligently with Jean Michael Fana, Advocacy and Education Manager for Harborlight Homes, to develop a plan to alert people that this offensive and racist language exists in our official documents.
Jean Michael Fana stated, “We are deeply grateful to partner on this important project with the Southern Essex Registry of Deeds under the leadership of Register O’Brien and Manager Nancy Doherty. Our hope is that acknowledging this historic harm against African Americans and other potential homebuyers is a basic step toward redress of the wrong and something the North Shore can build on in supporting a more equitable regional community.”
Although the Land Court issued an order making the language used null and void, O’Brien felt that he should go one step further and record the Register’s Notice, acknowledging the legacy of racism and recognizing the strides made towards equality. O’Brien further stated that if it had not been for these groups identifying and exposing these deeds, they could continue being buried in our records. I am grateful to Harborlight Homes and North Shore Chapter NAACP for the wonderful work that they have done. Kenann McKenzie-DeFranza, President of North Shore Chapter NAACP, shared, “We appreciate the attention that is being given to such a critical part of our landscape when it comes to our national history and long-term impacts of segregationist policies. Partnering with Harborlight Homes has allowed us to amplify an issue that undergirds a common goal with the NAACP: increasing opportunity for all. We know that it is essential to understand our past so that we do not only avoid re-creating those acts of exclusion in the future but understand how to disentangle and dismantle policies that emanate from those times.”
The referenced deeds in the Register’s Notice certainly do not include all of the offensive deeds. I am certain that the current owners of these properties are unaware of this discriminatory language in their chain of title. I suspect that after further examination of our records, we will produce more of these documents. O’Brien noted that this Registry has been a national leader in exposing fraud recorded by the major lenders in this country, which affected the integrity and accuracy of our land records. This action continues that policy of trying to right a wrong. As I retire, I am confident that this group and Nancy Doherty of my office will continue my efforts.
