LA County Could Return Manhattan Beach Land to Bruce Descendants

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The property that once belonged to Willa and Charles Bruce in Manhattan Beach might just be returned to their descendants. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn is at work on how the County, which now owns the oceanfront land, could play a part in what has become a major point of contention amongst Manhattan Beach residents — how to handle the purposeful ousting of a successful entrepreneurial Black couple whose land was taken away by the City of Manhattan Beach via eminent domain in the 1920s under the ruse of saying the city needed a park. The racially motivated action's real intent, to remove Black families from the area, was kept under wraps for decades and recently returned to the spotlight under a renewed intensity and focus as activists forced the city to reexamine and acknowledge the true history of the city's actions — actions most Manhattan Beach residents from the past and present were unaware of.

“The property that was once the Bruce’s is now owned by the County and I want LA County to be part of righting this wrong," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes Manhattan Beach. "I am looking at everything from repurposing the property in a way that tells the history of Bruce’s Beach to actually giving the property back to the descendants of Charles and Willa Bruce.”

The county-owned land currently holds a county lifeguard headquarters which includes public restrooms, a small parking lot and open grassy area. The county also owns two parking lots heading inland from the headquarters and then the City of Manhattan Beach has retained ownership of the open land from Manhattan Avenue up to Highland Avenue, where they maintain a park called Bruce's Beach. The county land and Bruce's Beach parkland were part of the swath of land taken by the city via eminent domain. At some point, the land that had been owned by Willa and Charles Bruce was deeded to the State of California and then to Los Angeles County via a tangled history that is being unwound and accounted for.

For its part, the City of Manhattan Beach is looking into the historical racial matter and the parkland the city owns, as well as the history of the entire land-grabbing event and not just the Bruce's land, using a task force of Manhattan Beach residents [only residents were allowed to apply to be on the task force] who are set to deliver their final reports to the Manhattan Beach City Council on Tuesday, March 16. City Council will then decide what to do with their proposals and suggestions.

The task force began its work in November 2020 after its members were selected by City Council. Council member Steve Napolitano and Mayor Pro Tem Hildy Stern are co-chairs of the Bruce's Beach Task Force. The task force just last week held a public forum to deliver "Bruce's Beach Rediscovered: A Presentation for Black History Month". The online forum was delivered live and questions from the audience were fielded by task force members.

Said Stern, "I'm glad to see the county is taking this seriously as well. Since the property that was formerly owned by the Bruces is now county property, it is entirely within the county's purview to decide how they will use that property to address righting this wrong. "

This week, on Wednesday, March 3, the task force will meet during a live public Zoom to consider a progress report from the Final Report subcommittee; hear reports [as needed] from the three subcommittees — History, Community Forum, and Resolution of Apology — and discuss the Arts in Public Places committee.

Said Manhattan Beach Mayor Suzanne Hadley when asked about Supervisor Hahn's statement: “I am going to defer to the BBTF for now. They are scheduled to deliver on March 16 the three things council requested last fall—an art piece, at least an update about it, new signage at the park, and an accurate history for our city website.

"On March 16, city council can discuss what was presented, and then touch on next steps, including County discussions about plans for the lifeguard station. For now, I’ll wait for the TF to complete the tasks council assigned to them.”