He returned vast lands on the coast of the US state of California to the descendants of a black family after they were taken from them almost a century ago, according to a decision taken by local authorities to “repair a historical injustice.”
The land now known as Bruce’s Beach was sold in 1912 to Charles and Willa Bruce, two black Americans who turned the site into a black-friendly seaside hotel in an era when access to public swimming pools was tainted by racial segregation. However, most white residents of the area carried out racist attacks and many acts of sabotage at the time at the site, which was even attacked by supporters of the Ku Klux Klan in 1920.
Then, in 1924, Manhattan Beach, south of Los Angeles, attempted to expropriate the Bruce family in “a racist move to remove this thriving commercial site dedicated to blacks and their patrons,” according to a decision unanimously approved Tuesday. Los Angeles County authorities. This attempt was successful in 1929. “We cannot change the past, and we will never be able to reverse the injustice done to Boella and Charles Bruce a century ago, but this is only the beginning,” County Sheriff Janice Hahn said. She indicated that restoring the site would allow grandchildren to “begin to restore the generational legacy that was forbidden to them.” Currently, the site houses facilities for marine lifeguards, owned by the city authorities.
The agreement stipulates that Marcus and Derek Bruce, two great-grandchildren of Charles and Willa, lease the land to the local authorities for at least two years in exchange for an annual rent of $413,000, and they can force the Manhattan Beach authorities to buy the land. . at a cost of no more than 20 million dollars.
