MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (KNX) — Los Angeles County has finalized and approved a plan to return Bruce's Beach to the descendants of the original owners it was stolen from a century ago.
The county's Board of Supervisors voted 5-to-0 to authorize the return of the land known as Bruce's Beach along the Manhattan Beach coastline.
"We cannot change the past, and we will never be able to make up for the injustice that was done to Willa and Charles Bruce. This may be the first land return of its kind, but it cannot be the last," said County Supervisor Janice Hahn. "We will never be able to rectify the injustice that was inflicted upon the Bruce family, but this is a start, and it is the right thing to do."
The Bruces first purchased the land in 1912 for $1,225. They created a blocks-long haven for Black beachgoers but were quickly subjected to intimidation tactics by racists and Ku Klux Klan members who attacked them and burned crosses.
In 1924, Manhattan Beach voted to condemn Bruce's Beach through eminent domain. It is well documented that this move was a racially motivated attempt to drive out the successful Black business and its patrons, the motion explains. With the property condemned in 1929, the Bruces left the city, and the property was demolished.
The city transferred the property to the state of California in 1948 before returning it to the county in 1995.
Now, after a years-long effort, the property is back in its rightful owners' hands. Great-grandsons Marcus and Derrick Bruce formed an LLC to maintain the property.
The land, which currently houses a county lifeguard station, will be leased to the county for two years for $413,000 a year. After that, the county will have the option to purchase the land for around $20 million.
"We aren't giving property to anyone, we are returning property," Supervisor Holly Mitchell said about the finalized plan on Tuesday. "Property that was erroneously and, based on fear and hate, taken from them."
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