California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs law returning beachfront land stripped from Black family - Yahoo News

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to return land to the descendants of a Black couple, Willa and Charles Bruce, that was taken from them in the city of Manhattan Beach, Calif., nearly a century ago. Newsom traveled to the area where the Bruces’ resort was once located to sign the new law in front of Bruce family members, the media and others who raised awareness of how Black Californians were pushed off of valuable beachfront property.

“I’m proud, as a son of this state, proud as the governor of this state, of the most diverse state and the world’s most diverse democracy, to be here, Anthony, with you,” Newsom said, referring to Anthony Bruce, the great-great-grandson of Willa and Charles and the heir to the property, at the bill signing.

Newsom added that the event was “for all of those families torn asunder because of racism all across this country and around the globe.”

Earlier this month, the California Legislature unanimously approved a measure allowing Los Angeles County to return the property to the descendants of Willa and Charles. The two built and operated a thriving resort that catered to Black patrons. At the time, it was one of two places in the Los Angeles area where Black people could safely visit the beach, according to the L.A. Times, as other public beaches were deemed for “whites only.”

But their joy came with hardship, as some white residents of Manhattan Beach — including members of the Ku Klux Klan — resented the resort and harassed Black visitors to deter them from coming.

In 1924, the Manhattan Beach City Council used eminent domain to strip the Bruce family of their land and create a park.

The property was eventually transferred to the state of California. The state later handed it to the county, with the stipulation that it couldn’t be given away or sold.

This sort of expropriation of Black property was common throughout the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and it contributed to the racial wealth gap that exists today.

source: https://news.yahoo.com/california-gov-gavin-newsom-signs-law-returning-beachfront-land-stripped-from-black-family-005247717.html

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