CA Beach Returned to Black Family After 100 Years in “Property-Based Reparations”

Los Angeles Country voted to return the beachfront land in June.

By Tom McKenna, Ruqaiyah Najjar, and Mike Whiter

Published on 7/21/2022 at 4:29 PM

Anthony Bruce is seen posing for a photo at a plaque commemorating the history of Bruce's Beach on July 20, 2022, in Manhattan Beach, California. Credit: Getty Images
Anthony Bruce is seen posing for a photo at a plaque commemorating the history of Bruce's Beach on July 20, 2022, in Manhattan Beach, California. Credit: Getty Images

Bruce's Beach is officially back in the hands of the Bruce family, nearly a century after the land was initially taken from them. Los Angeles Country voted to return the beachfront land in June.

Patricia Bruce-Carter speaks at a ceremony to return ownership of Bruce's Beach to the descendants of a Black family who had the land stripped from them nearly a century ago on July 20, 2022, in Manhattan Beach, California. Credit: Getty Images
Members of the Bruce family stand with Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn and activist Kavon Ward (R) on July 20, 2022, in Manhattan Beach, California. Credit: Getty Images
People view a plaque commemorating the history of Bruce's Beach on July 20, 2022, in Manhattan Beach, California. Credit: Getty Images

From 1912 to 1924, Charles and Willa Bruce owned and operated Bruce’s Beach. It was a resort and haven for Black residents to congregate away from the racism of Jim Crow-era California. The popular destination often hosted live music, Black celebrity appearances, and family parties.

In 1924, after relentless harassment from the Ku Klux Klan and white neighbors failed to frighten away the thriving community, city officials condemned the land. They seized several properties through eminent domain and claimed that the land was needed to build a park.


 

On July 20, the land was returned to the Bruce family in a public ceremony, marking what officials are calling the country’s first act of “property-based reparations.”