Bruce’s Beach
In 1912, Willa and Charles Bruce purchased land in Manhattan Beach, CA in order to build a beach resort for Black people. This did not sit well with the residents (including the Ku Klux Klan) of the small town and they sure let the Bruces know it. Guests of Bruce’s Beach were made to walk a half mile to the resort due to roadblocks set up in the surrounding properties.
In 1924 the city condemned the property and seized it using eminent domain. Pushing the Bruces and Black residents out, by municipal force of law, was institutionally racist. The city claimed they needed the land for a park and yet it sat vacant for decades.
To read more about this disturbing chapter of California’s recent history, see the articles below. They go into depth about the history as well as efforts to return the land (now owned by Los Angeles County) to the Bruce family. They also discuss what the neighborhood is like today, where Black people still feel unwelcome.
Podcast and article from the LA Times: The Times (18 Jun 2021)
KQED Forum podcast (07 Jun 2021)
Update 30 Sep 2021: the land from the park, currently owned by the County of Los Angeles, is in the process of being transferred back to the Bruce Family’s descendants. To do this required a change in state law. See the article on NPR.
This is the first entry into my index for Racism in California.