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The Times of India
The Times of India
World
TOI World Desk

In 1912, a Black couple bought California beachfront land and built a resort; the city seized it in the 1920s, and a century later their heirs got it back and sold it for nearly $20 million

Charles Bruce Willa California Los Angeles County County Janice Hahn Steven Bradford

A prime piece of Southern California oceanfront property taken from a Black couple through eminent domain a century ago was formally returned to their descendants and then sold back to Los Angeles County for nearly $20 million (£16.6 million). The deal ended a historic legal fight over Bruce’s Beach, a Manhattan Beach resort founded in 1912 by Willa and Charles Bruce. The resort became a popular destination for African American beachgoers during racial segregation. It was later targeted by white neighbours, harassed by the Ku Klux Klan, and eventually taken by local officials in 1924. According to official records from the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative and reporting by the Associated Press, the property was formally returned to great-grandsons Marcus and Derrick Bruce. The family then used a contractual option to sell the two plots back to the county for $19,975,000.

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