In 1912, during a time of racial segregation in southern California, Bruce’s Beach was purchased to create a beach resort for black people.
Officials in Los Angeles have returned to the descendants of the original black owners of a beachfront resort that was seized nearly a century ago.
It was forcibly taken by the local council in 1924 from the desirable city of Manhattan Beach.
Tuesday, however, the Los Angeles city council voted to return the land to the family.
In 1912, Willa and Charles Bruce purchased the two parcels of land for $1,225. The beach is now estimated to be worth $20m (£16.45m).
Willa told a reporter at the time, “Everywhere we’ve tried to purchase land for a beach resort, we’ve been denied, but I own this land, and I intend to hold on to it.”
Over the subsequent decade, Bruce’s Beach became a “citadel for African Americans coming there for leisure from the rest of southern California,” family spokesman Chief Duane Yellow Feather told in the previous year.
According to him, the local police department posted signs limiting parking to 10 minutes and a local landowner posted no trespassing signs, forcing people to walk a half-mile to reach the water.
The local authorities seized the land under eminent domain laws, which are designed to allow the government to forcibly acquire land needed for roads and other public buildings.
Officials stated they intended to construct a park. This did not occur until many decades later, during which time the area was vacant.
Tuesday’s motion to return the land acknowledged that “it is well-documented that this move was a racially motivated attempt to drive out a successful black business and its customers.
The return is the result of an extensive campaign and challenging procedure. The beach has featured a memorial to Willa and Charles for many years, and the state legislature had to pass a law to allow the property to be returned.
According to the lease agreement, the city will now lease the land from the family for $413,000 per year, with a clause permitting the future purchase of the land for up to $20 million-plus costs.
“This is a bittersweet day,” Anthony Bruce, the great-great-grandson of Willa and Charles, said, describing it as improbable.
“It devastated their finances. It ruined their opportunity to achieve the American Dream. I wish they could view today’s events “he said.
We hope this exposes people to an under-discussed aspect of American history, and we believe it’s a step toward attempting to rectify the past.
Chief Duane Yellow Feather has stated in the past that the effects of the seizure could still be felt today.
“We were recently expelled from that community… There are only 1% of African Americans in Manhattan Beach at present “s time,” he said, a figure supported by census data from the city.
