#InclusionDeed: A Vision for Our Community

WHITES ONLY.  Only ten letters, only two words, but this phrase is a longstanding symbol of systemic hate and oppression, and a mark of American institutional shame. Shame for our collective treatment of those with skin shades darker than pale, shame for a prejudiced cultural infrastructure built over generations, and shame for societal inertia to proactively address and repair these issues.

There are current deeds with addresses in the Bellingham area that are marked with this phrase. Not just musty papers from an era long past, but in file folders in homes right now. 

Local lawyer and legal care advocate Ziad I. Youssef has a plan to take one step towards combating this history with a tangible parallel effort towards “systemic love and inclusion”:

Systemic prejudice is hidden, beneath the surface. It’s those insidious reminders of someone being “other” or different, with a tinge of fear about those differences. Systemic love welcomes differences - we each have our own intersectional reality among race, age, gender and other demographic characteristics - and sees them as not something to be feared but to be welcomed. 

What you can do:

1) Share this blog post on your LinkedIn & Facebook pages using #InclusionDeed.

2) Ask for a rider on any warranty deed or deed of trust you record in our county:

“Whereas (grantor, grantee, buyer, seller, lender, borrower) hereby proclaim that they believe in a community free from discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and physical or mental ability.”

Learn more at InclusionDeed.org and the Inclusion Deed Facebook page.

Blog copy by Tiffany Holden