MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation allowing ownership of a prime beachfront property to be transferred to heirs of a couple who built a resort for Black people in the early 1900s but were stripped of the land by local officials.
The legislation was necessary to allow the start of the complex legal process of transferring ownership of what was once known as Bruce’s Beach in the city of Manhattan Beach and has been owned by Los Angeles County.
Newsom signed SB796 Thursday, Sept. 30. The bill was authored by Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, who said in a press release that the family's land was "stolen" years ago.
"Now there is nothing holding back the County from doing the right thing," Bradford said. "In the face of racism and violence by the KKK, the Bruce’s were steadfast, but ultimately could not stop the City from seizing their land and forcing them away."
He went on to say that returning the land back to the Bruce family will show that it's not too late to "correct injustice and that there are a multitude of ways to do so."
The property was purchased in 1912 by Willa and Charles Bruce, who built the first West Coast resort for Black people when segregation barred them from many beaches.
Read the full story from the Associated Press here.
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