Beach Forcibly Taken From Black Family In The 1920s & Returned To Their Descendants This Summer Is Being Sold Back To L.A. By The Bruce Family For $20M

Beach Forcibly Taken From Black Family In The 1920s & Returned To Their Descendants This Summer Is Being Sold Back To L.A. By The Bruce Family For $20M

A Black family whose ancestors had their land — now known as Bruce’s Beach — illegally taken in the 1920s is about to be $20 million richer!

Descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce no longer see a long-term financial gain from Bruce’s Beach, so they’ve decided to sell it back to Los Angeles County. The Bruce family paid $1,225 for the beachfront property in 1912, using it to establish a Black resort during a period of pervasive racial segregation.

Unfortunately, in 1924 the two parcels were seized by the municipal council, which was located in the affluent city of Manhattan Beach. Six months ago, Los Angeles County politicians agreed to a historic transaction, restoring the two pieces of oceanfront property in Manhattan Beach to the Bruce family, marking the first instance of the government returning stolen land to a Black family.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who announced the sale, said the Bruce family would already be wealthy if their property had not been forcefully taken.

Hahn said,

“The seizure of Bruce’s Beach nearly a century ago was an injustice inflicted upon not just Willa and Charles Bruce, but generations of their descendants who almost certainly would have been millionaires.”

Bruce’s Beach is the new name for a portion of the property that was finally transformed into a park in the 1960s, with the beach parcels being developed into a parking area and a lifeguard building.

Attorney George Fatheree, who represents the Bruce family, said,

“My clients were essentially robbed of their birthright; they should’ve grown up as part of a hospitality dynasty like the Hiltons. The ability to sell the property and invest the funds presents an opportunity for my clients to get a glimpse of that legacy that was theirs.”

He added,

“I think we all need to respect the family’s decision to know what’s in its best interest.”

What are your thoughts on the entire situation? Let us know in the comments!

[VIA]