“The law was used to steal this property 100 years ago, and the law today will give it back,” Hahn said. Janice Hahn, the county supervisor who led a government push to transfer the land, said the heirs would almost certainly be millionaires now if the property had not been taken. The organization is looking at several other unspecified projects, including one in California, to see if its goals are possible. Ward also co-founded Where Is My Land, an organization that aims to return land taken from Black Americans and get restitution. “The journey here was far from easy,” said Kavon Ward, a Black resident who learned of the property’s history and founded Justice for Bruce’s Beach. Situated along what became one of southern California’s signature beaches, fronted by rows of multimillion-dollar homes, it included a lodge, cafe, dance hall and dressing tents. Photograph: Jay L Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/Rex/ShutterstockĪmid rampant segregation, hate crimes and threats, the Bruces built the first west coast resort for Black people. “For me and the generations after, this would mean an inheritance – and that internal security of knowing that I come from somewhere, that I come from a people.”īruce’s Beach on Thursday evening. In a recent interview with the Guardian, Anthony Bruce, a 38-year-old great-great-grandson, called the return of the property “a reckoning that has been long overdue”. LA county officials moved earlier this year to return the valuable property to the descendants, granting them the wealth they have been denied for generations. The legislation unanimously approved by state lawmakers was necessary to allow the start of the complex legal process of transferring ownership of Bruce’s Beach. “There are other families waiting for this very day, to have their land returned to them,” Patricia Bruce, a cousin of Willa and Charles Bruce, told the Associated Press. With a half-dozen descendants of the couple present, Newsom apologized for how the land was taken before signing the bill during a ceremony at the property on Thursday. This week the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce, including the couple’s great-great-grandson, watched California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, sign a law that allows ownership of the property known as Bruce’s Beach to be transferred back to the family. "I have often been asked, 'why not get a life, enjoy life and quit worrying about doomsday?' The answer is that I don't see the purpose of life, nor happiness in life measured in how many rounds of golf I might play, but rather, in service to my fellow man," Beach says.Bruce’s Beach in Manhattan Beach, California. … It is just not safe.”īeach continues his work despite pushback and condescension, believing his project is a mission for the greater good. “We aren’t going to risk the life of one of our firefighters. “It is a life safety situation,” Tom Egan, chair of the Shelburne Fire Board, told the Banner. The nearby Shelburne Fire Department says it will not rescue anyone inside should the need arise. The idea is not to create risk, but reduce risk.” It is a threat to life, etc., etc.” Beach told the Orangeville Banner. “Their basis for sealing it is they say it was found to be a hazard. Twice they did seal the entrance to the bunker but Beach continues to reopen the entrance. Local authorities have threatened repeatedly since 2000 to seal off the underground passageways over safety concerns. That led to numerous court appearances and thousands of dollars in legal fees, Beach notes. After years of trying to acquire the proper building permits, Beach became frustrated and went ahead and built the structure anyway. He encountered quite a bit of pushback from the local government while trying to get his project launched. “I understand the world looks upon me that way.” “People think, ‘What a nut,’ and I know that, but I don’t mind,” he told the National Post. Beach concedes that the majority of people, including local and provincial government, consider his actions a little on the crazy side.
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