Last week, I returned to Bruce Beach as part of a personal pilgrimage to a now significant bit of family history and also I returned to Manhattan Beach to have a late lunch with my Amherst College classmate who has lived in Manhattan Beach for the last 48 years. As part of my pilgrimage to Bruce Beach, I parked in the Bruce Beach Park parking lot which is actually located on one of the lots that was owned by the Bruces. I walked down to the promenade to begin to walk towards the Manhattan Beach pier area where my luncheon engagement with my classmate was to occur. However, before beginning to walk to the pier my attention was caught by a new historical monument display located in front of the County structures that reside on the promenade. For the first time, the historical monument provides a clear history of what happened to Bruce family and the other four black families whose property was seized in 1924. One of the surprises for me, was the fact that of the five black families only the Bruce family was permanently displaced. The other four black families apparently were able to find other properties in Manhattan Beach and, indeed, one of the black families attempted to resume the beach hotel business after the Bruce family members were forced to abandon their beach resort. However, this second lodging place appears to have failed fairly quickly especially after the City of Manhattan Beach began harassing blacks who attempted to enjoy the beach ... even going so far as arresting a black woman sun bather and keeping her in jail overnight in her bathing suit.
The display also notes the Bruce's legal battle in the 1920's to overturn the eminent domain proceedings. The Bruces did not prevail in their legal battle and the financial toll on the Bruce family appears to have been too much to bear. They alone were forced to leave Manhattan Beach.
I reflected on this history as I walked the mile towards the Manhattan Beach pier. Knowing about the hardships endured by Charles and Willa Bruce and their descendants, I wondered if reparations alone is the remedy to the evil that was done.
The late lunch with my Amherst College classmate was very interesting and very beautiful. We ate at The Strand restaurant which has scenic views of the beach and the ocean. Our late lunch started at 4pm and lasted long enough for us to watch the sun set on the spectacular Pacific Ocean. I asked my classmate if he enjoyed living in Manhattan Beach. His answer was an enthusiastic affirmative. His 48 year love affair with Manhattan Beach was all too evident to see.
So what, pray tell, would be the price for missing one hundred years of sunsets?
I do not know the answer to that question, but a couple of days later, my classmate sent me an article from the local newspaper which made me feel better about it all. Attached is a copy of the article announcing that the City of Manhattan Beach had commissioned a new plaque to replace the historically inaccurate plaque that appears at the top of the Bruce Beach Park (at the uphill end of the park away from the promenade). In the discussions concerning the new plaque, the City Council stressed the need to make sure that the truth about Bruce Beach be stated clearly as a demonstration of the remorse being shown by the citizens of Manhattan Beach for the racist past. In essence, the new plaque that is to be placed at the top of the hill serves as a statement of repentance for the evil actions of the past.
After reading the article, it seemed to me that what has happened with Bruce Beach has become the model for how such matters should be addressed, and that the payment of reparations along with the repentance expressed by the elected leaders of Manhattan Beach have gone a long way in creating the formula for reconciliation.
Who knows, may be one day it just might be repeated ... somewhere.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Fairfield, California
January 25, 2023
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