Everyone everywhere was rooting for the Bruce family to succeed in being the first known beneficiaries of property-based reparations — or at least that’s the way it seemed based on the outpouring of community support and how smooth the required legislative process went.
But on the other side, there are those – like the Bruces themselves, as well as other continued supporters – who note that redeveloping the property would be difficult and would put them at the whims of lawmakers once again. The family has to do what’s best for them, they say. But in the late 1920s, Manhattan Beach’s leaders used eminent domain to strip them – and others in the area – of their land for racially motivated reasons. Decades later, the city handed the land over to the state, which eventually gave the property to Los Angeles County.
Under the agreement, the county would rent the land from the Bruces for $413,000 annually for two years. The family could also sell the land back to the county during that time for $20 million.Elected officials publicly backed that decision. The inheritors themselves said the cash infusion would give them financial autonomy – while acknowledging that they can use the experience to help others.
“There are few ideals more American than property rights,” Ward said. “If this nation is to live up to its purported ideals, then land reparations, restoration and restitution are imperative.” Anthony Bruce, in a statement, acknowledged that disappointment – but also pushed back on criticism over the family’s decision.
The county installed a plaque near the two parcels in July, and Manhattan Beach is working to install a new plaque of its own at Bruce’s Beach Park.“Without any overwhelming visible presence of African-Americans ,” said Richard K. Gordon, professor emeritus of African American and minority issues, multiculturalism, race and social justice at Cal State Dominguez Hills, “I imagine that the historical significance of Bruce’s Beach will be short-lived.
But, he said, instead of trying to rebuild what his ancestors had in the past, they decided to better their own futures.“Far from the popular beach resort stolen from our ancestors almost a century ago,” he said, “the land we received back from the county last summer is not currently permitted to be developed.
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