By Lauren Helper, Photo: Stephen Lam/The Chronicle, November 16, 2021
When Sonoo Thadaney-Israni and her husband signed the paperwork for their home in the hills above Silicon Valley in 1991, they were assured that the red flag in the fine print didn’t really matter.
The couple, who immigrated to the U.S. from India a decade earlier, had been surprised to learn that the deed to the roomy house in the San Mateo County town of Ladera still included a ban on all owners and occupants “other than those of the Caucasian or white race.” There was one exception: “The keeping of domestic servants of any race” was protected by the 1950 covenant.
“Knowing you’re moving to a neighborhood to have a family, you’re like, ‘Whoa, what does this mean?’” Thadaney-Israni recalled. “You’re told, ‘Well, it’s not enforceable.’”
Comments (0)