By Bob Walsh
The beachfront property was once a seaside resort owned by Charles
and Willa Bruce, a black couple, that catered to African Americans.
During the Jim Crow era, the city claimed the property through eminent
domain while vastly underpaying the couple for the land.
It is, or maybe was, a shinning example of reparations. Sort of.
The
Bruce family owned a chunk of property right on the beach in what is
now Manhattan Beach, CA 100 years ago. They had a going business
there. However, they had a serious problem. They were Black. So 95
years ago the government snatched their property away on some bullshit
pretext or other.
Last summer the family got the property, known as Bruce's Beach, deeded back to them.
Last month the family agreed to sell the property back to the county. For $20 million.
1 comment:
All beach front property to the dunes is owned by the state in Texas. Developers fight about it every session. Property owners still put up signs claiming private property. It's public property. Every single grain of sand is owned by the people.
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