The return of Bruce’s Beach last summer to the Bruce Family was hailed as a victory of reparations for Black Americans.
The property was recently sold back to Los Angeles County for $20 million, and that fight was led by Kavon Ward, a community activist and founder of the Where Is My Land organization.
On this week’s “In Focus SoCal,” host Tanya McRae sits down with Ward, who is currently assisting 600 families seeking reparations across the country.
There are several cases in California, such as the family of Silas White, a Black man who purchased an Ocean Avenue property in Santa Monica in the 1950s. White planned to open a high-end club called the Ebony Beach Club. The city of Santa Monica eventually seized the land through eminent domain. The Viceroy Hotel currently sits on a parcel of land that once belonged to White.
“My uncle tried to fight for his dream when they tried to take it away from him,” said Milana Davis, who is Silas White’s niece. “But how do you fight a city? How does one Black man in 1957 fight an entire city?”
“In Focus SoCal” reached out to the city of Santa Monica for comment on the property. The city sent out its Racial Equity statement, which includes the following: “The City of Santa Monica acknowledges the effects of generational and institutional racism, and its consequences that continues to impact out residents. These lessons of our history cannot be ignored. The City is committed to advancing racial equity and social diversity to improve the wellbeing of people who live, work, play, and do business in our City.”
“The folks who have had their land stolen deserve reparations for being the descendants of enslaved people,” said Ward. “And they deserve repair for having their land stolen from them.”
For more information on Ward's organization, visit here.
McRae also sits down with Assembly member Chris Holden for Black History Month. He is working on several new legislation this year, including the College Athlete Protection Act, which would require schools that play major college sports to compensate some athletes as much as $25,000 annually.
“The bill essentially sets up a college degree completion fund that will allow for these athletes to have these opportunities, as they go forward, to make sure that there’s a safety net in place in the event that they have something that keeps them from finishing their obligation to play the sport they love,” said Holden.
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