by Kevin Cody
A press conference has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday morning at Bruce’s Beach Park in Manhattan Beach by Los Angeles County District 4 Supervisor Janice Hahn,
State Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) and State Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena).
The purpose of the press conference is the “Announcement of SB 796 regarding Bruce’s Beach, the LA County beachfront property once owned by Willa and Charles Bruce,” according to a press release from Bradford, who is chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus.
The press release does not specify the contents of SB 796. But recent comments by Hahn suggest the bill will facilitate some form of reparation for the Bruce’s descendents.
Charles and Willa Bruce were Black and once owned the beachfront property now occupied by the Los Angeles County Southern Section Lifeguard headquarters. The City of Manhattan Beach took the property from the Bruce’s through eminent domain in 1924. Property adjacent to the Bruce’s, owned by both Blacks and whites, was also taken in 1924 through eminent domain and is now Bruce’s Beach Park.
At Tuesday’s Manhattan Beach City Council meeting, the city council issued an acknowledgement that the city’s use of eminent domain against the Bruce’s and their neighboring property owners was to force Black families out of town. ER
