Almost a century after it was taken, Los Angeles County beach land worth $21 million was returned Tuesday to descendants of its Black owners
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The town of Manhattan Beach took the land from Charles and Willa Bruce in 1929.
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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the return of Bruce's Beach to the great-grandsons of Charles and Willa Bruce, CNN and the New York Times reported.
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The land was taken from the original Black owners through eminent domain condemnation proceedings in 1924.
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"This is a day we weren't sure would ever come, the return of our family's property happened thanks to the hard work of many, many people.
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It means the world to us, and we know how important this is to people across the country. But it is also bittersweet," Anthony Bruce said in a statement.
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He said his great-grandparents Willa and Charles Bruce sacrificed to open a business that gave Black people a place to gather and socialize.
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He said the town of Manhattan Beach "took it from them because of the color of their skin" and it destroyed them financially.
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"It is never too late to right a wrong. Bruce's Beach was taken nearly a century ago, but it was an injustice inflicted upon not just Willa
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Charles Bruce but generations of their descendants who would, almost certainly, be millionaires today if they had been allowed to keep their beachfront property," said Supervisor Janice Hahn in a statement.