Heritage months are times to celebrate the heritage of different ethnicities and lifestyles, and to educate others about their history and contributions.
African American/Black History Month: Celebrated in February
Women's History Month: Celebrated in March
Arab American Heritage Month: Celebrated in April
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Celebrated in May
Jewish American Heritage Month: Celebrated in May
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month: Celebrated in June
Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrated from September 15 to October 15
National Disability Employment Awareness Month: Celebrated in October
Native American/American Indian Heritage Month: Celebrated in November
In addition to celebrating these heritage months, the Kent County Recorder will reject any documents submitted for recording if restrictive language against any of the above groups, or if the language has language like "for Caucasians only," in the document.
Some older Deeds and HOA/Condominium documents still contain such language even though discriminatory restrictions are now unenforceable and illegal. If we discover such a document in our normal course of business, we will redact and strike this offensive and illegal language. However, there are too many recorded documents (more than 6 million recorded pages) for us to know what is contained in all of them.
As part of celebrations for one of these months -- or at any time -- the public is invited to review older recorded documents online or in our office and advise us if this language is found so we can eliminate it.
In the future, AI may be taught to seek out this language, but until that day, the public's help is requested using the form we designed for this purpose.
If you want something redacted that is not covered by existing law, fill out the same form. We will submit this to the County Attorney who will review and determine if it should be eliminated or not. This process will take 90 days or less.
In addition, use the same form if you discover private information in your deed such as social security number, alien registration number, driver's license or passport number, bank account numbers, etc.