Heirs of black couple who had beach property taken in 1924 to sell area back to LA County for $20M
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Los Angeles County, for $20 million, will buy back a prime beachfront property from the descendants of the black couple whose land was forcibly taken from them a century ago and returned to them last year. .
In a July ceremony, the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce received the deed to Bruce’s Beach, about 20 miles south of Los Angeles.
His great-great-grandparents Willa and Charles Bruce purchased the Manhattan Beach land in 1912, only to have it improperly seized by the city in 1924 after a racist lobbying campaign.
The direct descendants of Willa and Charles have now made the decision to sell the land back to the county for nearly $20 million.
Willa and Charles Bruce brought the property to the property in 1912 at the turn of the 20th century after moving from New Mexico with their son Harvey.
A Bruce’s Beach plaque stands on property that used to be owned by Charles and Willa Bruce before it was seized by the government.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors President Janice Hahn said in a statement Tuesday: “This fight has always been about what is best for the Bruce family, and they feel it is in their best interest to sell this property. back to the counties for almost $20 million and finally rebuilding the generational wealth they were denied for nearly a century.’
A Hahn spokesman said the Bruce family does not plan to release a statement about the sale.
Bruce Beach is comprised of two parcels of land with valuable waterfront views in Manhattan Beach, an upscale Los Angeles community that to this day remains less than 1 percent black.
It was first purchased by the Bruces between 1912 and 1920 and was the site of their later construction of a beach resort for members of the black community, who were prohibited from using most white beach clubs at the time.
The complex was a success, but it was one of several owned by black landowners that were seized by Manhattan Beach authorities in the 1920s after white residents complained about their presence.
Derrick (left) and Anthony (right) Bruce talk about their ancestors’ belief in the importance of reclaiming Bruce’s beach
In July 2022, the Bruce family came together to celebrate the return of the deed to the land to the descendants of its rightful owners.
Artist Shelley Bruce paints a picture of the Bruce family during a ceremony transferring ownership of Bruce’s Beach to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce.
Anthony Bruce, the great-great-grandson of Willa and Charles Bruce, smiles as Governor Gavin Newsom signs SB 796, a bill that allows land in Manhattan Beach to be returned to the descendants of its original owners.
Following the race riots that followed the death of George Floyd in 2020 and the subsequent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Manhattan Beach City Council assembled a task force that ultimately recommended that the county return the land to the Bruce family.
In 2022, the land was leased back to the descendants of the Bruce family, with an option to re-sell the land to the county for its market value.
Prior to its resale, the land was owned by brothers Marcus and Derrick Bruce, as well as Derrick’s sons Anthony and Michael.
At the time the deal closed, Anthony, who currently resides in Florida with his wife Sandra Bruce, said the initial seizure of the land “destroyed” his great-great-grandparents financially.
It destroyed his chance to achieve the American Dream. I wish they could see what has happened today,” he said.
The July ceremony marked the first time a government entity returned improperly seized land to an African-American family.
During a speech he gave that day, Anthony said: ‘It’s surreal, and it’s almost like being transported to the other side of the known universe.’
I want to keep my senses about the whole thing. I want to make sure I don’t lose focus on what Charles and Willa’s dream was. The dream was simply to have an America where they could prosper and make their American business prosper.”
Without God, we would not be here today. And finally, thank you all. God bless you,’ he concluded.
Aerial view of Bruce’s Beach at golden hour. Some have questioned whether the $20 million asking price is a low offer from Los Angeles County.
Anthony Bruce (right) with Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors President Janice Hahn (left), who announced the family’s plans to sell the property to the county on Tuesday.
In his statement on Tuesday, Hahn said he hopes the return of the land will serve as a precedent for other parts of the government to do the same.
“That’s what reparations look like and it’s a model that I hope the government across the country will follow,” he said.
One important note regarding the family’s sale of the land is that a recently passed California Senate bill would exempt the family from most taxes associated with the sale of the land.
In July, Anthony Bruce said the seizure of the property “destroyed their (Willa and Charles Bruce) chance to achieve the American Dream. I wish they could see what has happened today.
Some weighed in on the news that the family chose to sell the land to the county to say they are disappointed with the decision.
R&B singer Irv Sullivan tweeted that he was disappointed that the Bruces were “selling Bruce’s Beach to LA so soon.”
A Twitter account called Beagrrrl wrote: ‘The Bruce family will be selling their Bruce’s Beach property to Los Angeles County for $20 million. Seems low, but what do I know?
The median home price in Manhattan Beach in the fall of 2022 was $2.6 million, according to Redfin data.