Bruce's Beach Land Will Not Be Returned, MB City Council Says

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA —Following a very vocal six-hour meeting Tuesday night, the Manhattan Beach City Council voted to disband the Bruce's Beach Task Force.

The Task Force was formed in October of 2020 in response to the seizure of land from a Black family almost a century ago.

In 1924, the City used eminent domain to force Willa and Charles Bruce off the land they lived on, where they ran a resort for Black families. The property, which is located on Highland Avenue at 27th Street, is currently owned by Los Angeles County and houses the county's lifeguard headquarters and training center.

Among the Task Force's list of 21 remedies included pledging that the city will promote racial equity, creating an art installation that would be educational and interactive, and keeping the Task Force on as a permanent advisory panel to the City Council.

Following the presentation, the Council voted down recommendations for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) as well as decided that the land will not be given back and there will be no reparations paid to the Bruce family.

Appendix five of the Task Force's recommendations that included an effort “to expedite the collection of race-based data with an eye to eliminating racial profiling” was also voted down.

Approved was the art project, which has been turned over to the Art in Public Places committee with a $350,000 budget.

Mayor Suzanne Hadley said that that racism was the primary reason for the city of Manhattan Beach to start eminent domain proceedings against Black families.

"I am sorry personally—and as the current Manhattan Beach mayor—for what transpired in my town between 1912 and 1929. It hurts my heart. I think it was wrong. I would not act that way, and I pray my own adult children never would as well," she said.

When stating what she wants to see for the city moving forward, Hadley said she would like the history of Bruce's Beach to be put on the city website, updated signage at the parks with a list of all the evicted families, the Cultural Arts Council to put forth public art that honors the memory of early settlers, and to work with the County of Los Angeles to help decide what happens with the county-owned lifeguard station, among other efforts.

Prior to the meeting, the City received approximately 350 emails, indicating 2 to 1 in favor of disbanding the Task Force, according to the City Clerk.

"We are not a racist city. We are not systemically racist. We do not have a racist police force. We do not seek to keep Manhattan Beach a white city," Hadley said. "We do not wish to turn back the clock or return to the old days of Jim Crow or racist restrictive covenants that existed as late as 1968 ...You know what we truly are: We are a welcoming city open to all. We are a diverse city."