Learn More About History Of Bruce's Beach During Online Forum

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The City of Manhattan Beach Bruce's Beach Task Force, co-chaired by two City Council members, will present a forum on "Bruce's Beach Rediscovered: A Presentation for Black History Month" today [Thursday, Feb. 25] from 6:30-8 p.m. The free online event will be on Zoom and open to the public.

Task force member Dr. Anthony Lee, a retired UCLA professor, will introduce the subject, followed by task force researchers who will unfold the history of racial exclusion that took place with respect to Manhattan Beach's Bruce's Beach in the 1920s, and bring the conversation into the present.

Now a park between Highland Avenue and The Strand, the history of Bruce's Beach has been a little-known and much misunderstood episode in the city's history, according to the city website page about the event, but has recently become the focus of new attention.

Bruce's Beach was once the site of a thriving resort for black beachgoers. How this was all lost, and the memory forgotten, will be the subject of this educational forum sponsored by Manhattan Beach's new Bruce's Beach Task Force.

The Bruce's Beach Task Force, selected by the Manhattan Beach City Council on October 20, 2020, consists of Manhattan Beach residents

• Allison Hales
• Tyler St. Bernard
• Anthony Lee
• Lana Rizika
• Isla Garraway
• Kristi Ramirez-Knowles
• Lindsey Fox
• Michael Jenkins
• Taylor Gamble
• Jarett Margolis
• Amanda Park
• Stephanie Caridad
• Kristin Long

Alternates

• Eyana Carballo
• Laura Kainsinger

You can learn more about each task force member here.

The free online Zoom event can be accessed from this city website page.

The Bruce's Bach Task Force was created in late 2020 after activists began pushing, starting in June 2020, for the Manhattan Beach City Council to formally hear the accurate history of what transpired 100 years ago [give or take] to Willa Bruce, a Black woman who owned oceanfront property and operated a successful and popular business where Blacks could dine, lodge, enjoy entertainment and go to the beach during the Jim Crow era.

The Bruce's Beach park in Manhattan Beach has a monument with a plaque on it, however, that plaque has been called out for not being 100% accurate. The task force will look into how to handle the existing monument and plaque, as well as other creative ideas to commemorate the history of Bruce's Beach.

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PREVIOUSLY: Manhattan Beach Resident Wants More Than Plaque For Bruce's Beach

PREVIOUSLY: New Homes At Bruce's Beach? Hotel? Manhattan Beach Man Posits