Kenneth Zak, ’87, featured in New York Times article after striking racist covenant from house deed
Just over a year ago, Kenneth Zak (’87) and his wife Kyona struck a decades old deed from their home that stated anyone “other than the White or Caucasian race” could not own the home.
In August of 2021, the New York Times featured Zak’s story in an article titled, “Is There Racism in the Deed to Your Home?”
“A lawyer turned novelist, Mr. Zak dug his 10-page deed out of the roughly 100-page pile of closing documents for his home after reading a news article about covenants in 2019. (When he read the article, he said, “You know what? I thought I saw that language in our document”) An attached rider announced that discriminatory clauses were not enforceable. “That didn’t seem like enough for us,” he said. “Now it’s redacted and rejected.” On their updated deed, the covenant is visible, but crossed out.”