California moves to return land to Black couple’s heirs

By STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation allowing ownership of a prime beachfront property to be transferred to heirs of a couple who built a resort for Black people in the early 1900s but were stripped of the land by local officials.

The legislation signed Thursday was necessary to allow the start of the complex legal process of transferring ownership of what was once known as Bruce’s Beach in the city of Manhattan Beach and has been owned by Los Angeles County.

The property was purchased in 1912 by Willa and Charles Bruce, who built the first West Coast resort for Black people when segregation barred them from many beaches.