The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to return the land to the family of owners Charles and Willa Bruce.
Known as Bruce’s Beach, the resort had offered black families a place to enjoy California life and was a love affair for the couple. They bought the land in 1912 for $ 1,225 and built several facilities, including a cafe and locker rooms.
But harassment by white neighbors and the Ku Klux Klan shattered their dreams.
The last blow came in 1924, when the city took over the property through a famous domain and paid the couple part of what they asked for. The city wanted the land for a park.
The property, now valued at $ 20 million, was transferred to Los Angeles County in 1995. The houses next to the property are valued at about $ 7 million each.
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that would allow the county to return property on the beach to their descendants.
The new law is authored by Senator Steve Bradford, who participates in the newly formed U.S. reparations working group.
“This is what reparations look like,” Bradford said, insisting that the county did not give anything to the Bruce family, but simply returned their stolen property.
Tuesday’s vote finalized a proposal submitted by Holly Mitchell, chairman of the county board of supervisors, to return the plot of land, which is now a grassland park and lifeguard training facility.
“We are not returning this land, we are returning it to its rightful owners,” Mitchell said, calling it a “historic moment for our county.”
The vote outlined plans to return the property to the Bruce family. County officials will rent the property from Bruce under a 24-month lease totaling $ 413,000 a year to maintain the facility.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who is working on the proposal with Mitchell, held back tears as she said on board, “This is going to be one of the most important things I’ve ever done.”
The decision was a two-year effort by the Bruce Beach Justice Mass Movement.
Cavon Ward, founder of Justice for Bruce’s Beach, told CNN that Tuesday’s decision was a dream come true to see the land returned.
“I feel a sense of peace. I feel joy. “I am honored that the highest will use me as a court to help this happen, to be a catalyst for that to happen,” she said.
CNN’s Stephanie Elam, Anna-Maja Rapard and Camila Moreno-Lisaraso contributed to this report.
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