Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Manhattan Beach Can't Figure Out How To Apologize For Its Racist Past
Cyclists in Manhattan Beach, California, December 12, 2020. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
()
Nearly 100 years after the city of Manhattan Beach seized Bruce's Beach from its Black owners, the city still can't decide whether, or how to, apologize for the racism behind taking the land.
Charles and Willie Bruce, 1886. Courtesy of the California African American Museum.
()
Willie Anne Bruce and her husband, Charles Aaron Bruce, purchased a tract of land in Manhattan Beach from an L.A. real estate agent in 1912.
The beach became a popular destination for the Black community, according to a report made by the Manhattan Beach city council. That is until George Lindsay, a real estate agent, initiated a series of events leading to the "condemnation and seizure of property from Black families residing near the Bruces' lodge" in 1924.
Support for LAist comes from
Lindsay said he was serving the community by working toward a peaceful end to the "negro 'invasion'," the report says.
Ultimately the Manhattan Beach City Council voted to use eminent domain to take the property. They claimed they wanted to build a public park, but the land grab followed years of racist harassment stoked by the KKK.
The Bruce family sued the city for racial discrimination in 1924. The city eventually paid them a settlement, but it was much less than the value of the land.
The Manhattan Beach City Council formed a task force in October 2020 to create recommendations for the city to right the historical wrong... those recommendations included a formal apology.
But the city council decided Tuesday to punt the issue and instead, work on the wording. They also voted to disband the task force.
The city council did approve an art installation about the history of the beach, but Bruce family spokesman Duane Yellow Feather Shepard says the whole ordeal was a missed opportunity to restore "stolen" generational wealth:
"These people were the founders of Manhattan Beach. By losing [that land], we've lost money that could be used to incubate businesses for the family, we've lost student tuitions for college. The generational wealth has just been wiped out."
Support for LAist comes from
READ THE FULL TASK FORCE REPORT BELOW (It includes a 30-page history of Bruce's Beach):
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist