LA County will return a beach property worth millions nearly 100 years after it was seized from a Black family

Bruce’s Beach, a beachfront property owned by a Black couple nearly 100 years ago and then seized will now be returned, reports The Insider.

Bruce’s Beach Resort to be returned

Charles and Willa Bruce — a couple who purchased land in Manhattan Beach, California, created a “sanctuary” for Black residents to enjoy the beach amid racial discrimination in the early 1900s.

“It was a very important place because there was no other place along the coast of California where African Americans could actually go and enjoy the water,” Shepard, the Bruce family historian and spokesperson, told The Insider.

Bruce’s Beach Resort faced intimidation from white residents and the Ku Klux Klan, but the couple didn’t waver, Shepard said.

The property was eventually taken from the family in 1924 by the city council through eminent domain. But it remained untouched for years.

Willa and Charles only received about $14,000 in compensation after taking legal action, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Bruce’s Beach Worth Millions

Officials said the land is worth approximately $75 million that generations of the Bruce family have missed out on.

Shepard said the land was worth between $35 and $75 million, but officials told The Insider in a statement the land has not yet been assessed and would be “in the coming months.”

Bringing Awareness

As protests emerged over the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, the Bruce family used the opportunity to bring renewed awareness about the historic property.

After reading a blog post on the property’s significance, activist Kavon Ward took an interest in the issue of Bruce’s Beach and set up an event to raise awareness on Juneteenth last year.

“It was just something in my spirit that said that it [the land] was taken… it needs to be given back,” Ward, who is now the founder of Justice for Bruce’s Beach, told The Insider. “And I think energetically and subconsciously every move I made worked toward that.”

A lifeguard post currently sits on the land where the Bruce’s Beach resort once stood. The land has been owned by Los Angeles County since 1995, and before then, the state owned the property.

Returning Bruce’s Beach

Officials released a report earlier this month detailing steps to return the property, including evaluating the land’s value and certifying the property’s legal heirs.

The county board of supervisors on July 13 voted in favor of moving forward with the plan once greenlit by the state, per the Daily Breeze.

Despite the official steps to return the property, Ward and Shepard told The Insider that the Manhattan Beach city council has yet to apologize to the family.

“Our next step will be, once we get that land restored to us, is to go after them for the restitution, for the loss of revenue for 96 years of our family from the business, the loss of generational wealth, and the punitive damages for their collusion with the Ku Klux Klan in disenfranchising our family,” Shepard added.