By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire
The nice-grandchildren of the African American couple Willa and Charles Bruce, whose land in Southern California was taken in 1924 and returned to the family last yr, have opted to sell it back to the local government for $20 million.
Within the Twenties, the beach resort was extremely popular with African American tourists. At the moment, Black people weren’t permitted on white beaches.
The location became famously referred to as “Bruce’s Beach.”
The youngsters and grandchildren of Charles and Willa Bruce fought for many years to get back the land.
Chief Duane Yellow Feather Shepard, a family historian and spokesman for the Bruce family, stated in a 2021 interview, “It was a really significant location because there was nowhere else along the California coast where African Americans could go to benefit from the water.”
The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists often threatened the Bruce family, but they kept the resort open and took care of the land.
In 1924, the municipal council used eminent domain to take the land to construct a park.
But, in response to a TV show called “The Insider,” the realm wasn’t used for a few years.
Willa and Charles Bruce fought back in court, but their compensation was only $14,000. Lately, local officials have estimated the property’s value to be as high as $75 million.
The realm accommodates two coastal properties and is currently used for lifeguard training.
Janice Hahn, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, revealed that the family would sell the property back to the local government.
Hahn stated that the value was set through an appraisal.
Hahn stated, “That is what reparations seem like, and it’s a model I hope governments across the country would adopt.”
The statement made by Hahn may or will not be exactly what the Bruce family desired along with the restitution of their land.
In 2021, Anthony Bruce, the great-great-grandson of Willa and Charles Bruce, told The Latest York Times, “An apology could be the least they might do.”
The post California Family Whose Beachfront Properties were Seized 100 years ago, Sells Land Back to County for $20 Million first appeared on Post News Group. This text originally appeared in Post News Group.
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