Black Family in Renton Demands Reparations From Renton School District: Part 2

By Cesar Canizales

This is the 2nd and final part of a series documenting the Houston’s family fight for justice for money they claim the Renton School District owes them after the threatened seizure and subsequent purchase of their families land for below market value in 1968. If you missed part one, you can see it here.

It was nearly 60 years ago that the Renton School District bought John Houston’s parents’ farm and home, an occurrence which Houston claims destroyed his family and left them with almost nothing. 

Houston’s parents' dream of owning land and leaving it to their descendants came crashing down in 1968 when the district forced them to sell their property purportedly to build a new school. The school was never built.

Over the past few years, John Houston has been building a case for reparations from the school district for his family. He has spoken at school board meetings several times this year.

During the April board meeting, he repeated his claims.

“My parents would never sell the land voluntarily,” said Houston.

The school district bought 10 acres from the Houston family and 10 additional ones from two other families for $92,000 in 1968. When the expected population growth did not materialize, the district canceled the plans for the school. It sold the 20 acres in 1980 to developers for $187,000—more than double what it originally paid.

Now, Houston, his brother James, and their sister Beatrice are trying to get reparations from the current school district for what they see as a wrongful land grab that killed any chance they had at generational wealth.

James Houston did not mince words when he delivered fiery remarks at the April school board meeting. 

“We got hoodwinked out of our property, and you made a bunch of money off of it,” James Houston said.

The brothers are also getting support from friends and the community at these meetings.

“I was crushed when I heard how the Houston family was treated, and crickets from the school district,” said Seattle artist and teacher Tula Holmes

“What happened to the Houston family was a horrendous injustice,” another supporter said at the Renton School Board meeting on April 5th.

Jerry Evans, one of John Houston’s oldest and best friends, spoke via telephone at the board meeting. He also spoke with Converge Media about the case and what he thinks the board should do.

“I would hope that they go back and look at this issue and decide what would be an equitable, reasonable payment of whatever type to the Houston family, because that was generational money, I think, that they lost,” Evans said.

The brothers are adamant that their parents never would have sold the farm they lived on because they used the land for food and income, but the district threatened the use of eminent domain to acquire the land.

“Would he sell? No, no, no way. My dad -- my dad didn't even know how to, how to sit down and legally negotiate a sale,” James Houston said. “Sign on this line and sign on that line, make sure you cross the T's and dot the I's. He couldn't even write or read. So, no. No.”

Renton School District Superintendent Damien Pattenaude declined a request for an interview. Instead, school district spokesperson Randy Matheson answered questions via email.

Matheson said eminent domain was not used in the Houston case. However, documents provided to John Houston by the district suggest the family refused to sell, so the district was prepared to acquire the land using that tactic.

Asked whether the current school district leaders think that the Houston brothers and descendants should get any compensation or apology for what transpired back then, Matheson said the district has worked with Houston “[T]o provide full historic documentation of the purchase of his family’s property, it’s intended use, and the subsequent economic realities…that led to its eventual sale.”

Asked whether any attempt was made to share the profits of the sale with the Houston family, Matheson said, “There is no obligation, expectation… to compensate past owners of property after completion of a series of legal and binding negotiations and contracts...”

“I’ve seen correspondence about eminent domain wasn’t used. No, it wasn’t used. But the threat of eminent domain is much worse at times than actually going to court,” John Houston told the board at its meeting in April.

Houston’s parents were poor as well as poorly educated. His father had a third-grade education, and his mother had gone to seventh grade. 

Houston’s father George signed the warranty deed for the sale of the property with an “x.”

Eminent domain is legal and constitutional when it comes to acquiring property for public uses. However, it isn’t always applied evenly across communities. 

Joseph Todd is with the Washington State Commission on African American Affairs. He has worked on eminent domain in other areas.

“It’s not unlike the stories you hear across the country, where eminent domain is declared and, for some reason, it always seems to go through the communities of color,” Todd said. “Interstates, parks, you name it, no matter what--it always seems to go through the communities of color because the need is in place.”

While owners are paid market value when their properties are taken through eminent domain, Todd said that is not an accurate measure. 

“The reason the Houstons were living in the area was because of redlining,” Todd said. “So, Black folks were living in that area because they couldn't buy in other places because of these covenants and things that some of these neighborhoods and some of these communities had. So, already the value the land value was devalued from the get-go.”

If the school district decided to take some action, the question remains as to how any type of compensation would work. Todd says the district has options.

“The school district owns land, and you can take that land and put it in a trust under a given person's name and then let that person manage that land trust,” said Todd. “And they can do with that what they want. Either lease it for 100 years back to the school district or you can build homes on it if you sell it.”

Community advocate Rev. Linda Smith said the district owes it to the community to do what is right.

“The school board talks about justice and equity. I think it would send a strong message to the entire community that the school board believed in all people and believed that justice belongs to all. Because until we acknowledge our wrongdoing, we're going to repeat it,” Smith said.

Monetary compensation might soothe some of their pain, but for the Houston brothers, the loss of their parents’ land that could have created opportunities and wealth for subsequent generations has left an emotional wound.  

“Money heals a lot of wounds. You know, any time that you can go back and get justice with an apology, you feel better,” said James Houston. “I'm scarred. My family's scarred. My race is scarred, but we're not scared.”

“They gave my parents pennies. My mom – it just tells you how little they gave them, 30 or $40,000. My mom still had to work two jobs after we moved from that land. It split up my family,” said John Houston.