Someone has stolen a plaque monumentalizing the Black family who owned land on a California beach seized by segregationist government officials in 1924.
According to NBC News, the Manhattan Beach Police Department confirmed it has launched an investigation to “identify, locate, and apprehend those responsible” for stealing the copper plaque from Bruce’s Beach Park.
In the early 1900s, Charles and Willa Bruce, who weren’t welcome in other coastal communities, settled on Manhattan Beach’s Strand, per the plaque erected in February 2023 and dedicated the following month.
“The city’s actions at the time were racially motivated and wrong,” reads the monument, which conveys optimism for a day when “respect and inclusion” are commonplace.
The Bruces bought the site between 1912 and 1920 and developed Bruce’s Lodge, which drew Black visitors and homeowners desiring to reside or vacation close to the attraction.
However, several white families in the area responded with hostility, racism, and legislation. In 1924, the City Council moved to seize the land with the promise of building a park, which they didn’t construct until 1956.
Following a series of transactions between the state and the city of Manhattan Beach, the Los Angeles County government assumed ownership of the Bruce family’s contiguous oceanfront plots in 1995.
The Bruces, who had led the way in the Western wing of the Great Migration out of the Jim Crow South, had left by 1927.
In 2022, the county returned the property to the Bruce family heirs, who sold it back for $20 million the following year, according to NBC.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn long advocated returning Bruce’s Beach to the family that originally owned the land. On Tuesday, she acknowledged that the theft would reopen “old wounds” and said she hoped someone targeted the plaque for its substance rather than what it recognizes.
“I hope that the plaque’s theft is unrelated to the painful history of Bruce’s Beach and my decision to return the property to the Bruce family,” said Hahn, “and more related to the string of recent bronze thefts we have seen.”
She noted that the county’s plaque is still atop the former Bruce’s Beach property.
City spokesperson Alexandra Latragna said there are no leads in the case and no evidence to indicate it was related to a hate crime.
“The stolen plaque held significant historical and cultural value,” the Manhattan Beach Police Department said, NBC reported.
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