Land confiscated 100 years ago will be returned to a family from California: now it is worth millions

A piece of coastal land in Southern California that was confiscated from an African American family nearly 100 years ago is to be returned to their descendants, reports ABC News.

Photo: Shutterstock

A black couple, Willa and Charles Bruce, acquired land in Manhattan Beach in 1912, making them some of the first black landowners in the city. But 12 years later, in 1924, they were forced to leave their land, as it was captured by the city.

On Tuesday, April 20, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to return the property to the descendants of Will and Charles Bruce.

The Bruces bought the first of two oceanfront plots for $ 1225, and the property could now be worth millions.

They built a resort known as Bruce's Beach to cater to blacks, making it one of the few beaches that blacks could use due to segregation. The Bruces and their clients were harassed and threatened by their white neighbors, including the Ku Klux Klan, the county's supervisory board said.

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In 1924, the city of Manhattan Beach forced a couple to leave their land to be turned into a park. The city took over this property in 1929, but it remained empty for decades.

Following the vote, the Los Angeles County Executive Office will submit a report within 60 days of the plan and timeline for returning the property to the Bruce family.

The site is now home to the Los Angeles County Rescue Training Headquarters. The county will have to consider a plan to either rent the property from the Bruce family or relocate the rescue service.

The council also voted to sponsor Senate Bill 796, which was introduced last week and is required to transfer ownership. When property was transferred from state to county in 1995, this limited the county's ability to transfer property. This law will remove restrictions and allow the district to return the land to the Bruce family. A hearing on the bill is scheduled for April 27.

“This was an injustice done not only to Willa and Charles Bruce, but to generations of their descendants who almost certainly would have become millionaires if they had been able to keep this property and their successful business,” said Janice Hahn, Los Angeles District 4 Supervisor. The Khan area includes Manhattan Beach property that needs to be returned to the family.

“When I realized that the county now owned the original Bruce property, I felt there was no choice but to return the property to the direct descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce,” she added.

“I hope other cities, counties and other states see what we're doing here,” Hahn said after the vote. “And I hope they will be inspired to look at their own history and identify opportunities to correct similar injustices.”

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Anthony Bruce, one of the family's last living direct descendants, said his family was despoiled by the land grab.

“It was unfair to the Bruce family,” he said. “I think we would be rich Americans still living there in California... Probably in Manhattan Beach.”

“I want people to understand that there is justice and that you should seek it and your family can find peace after the wrongs committed against them in the past,” he added.

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