100 years after a Black family was forced out of owning a resort in Los Angeles’ Manhattan Beach due to racism, their descendants will gain ownership of the land again.
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Back in 1912, Charles and Willa Bruce owned a beach resort that welcomed African-Americans but their dream was cut short due to racist policies at the time and the land was seized from them. On Friday, Los Angeles officials announced that their descendants will gain ownership of the land again and it is currently worth $72 million. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Janice Hahn started looking into the matter earlier this year after advocates and members of the Bruce family fought to tell their story for years.
‘The Bruces had their California dream stolen from them, And this was an injustice inflicted not just upon Willa and Charles Bruce but generations of their descendants who almost certainly would have been millionaires if they had been able to keep this property and their successful business.’
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Duane Yellow Feather Shepard, one of the descendants, said the seizing of their family’s land has left an emotional and financial burden on the family for decades.
‘It’s been a scar on the family, financially and emotionally. We’ve been stripped of any type of legacy, and we’re not the only family that this has happened to. It’s happened all over the United States.’
SOURCE: The Daily Mail