Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media The disturbing story of Los Angeles County’s Bruce’s Beach Park — location of the first West Coast seaside resort for Black beachgoers and a residential enclave for a few African American families – has been making headlines around the country. One hundred years ago, Manhattan Beach city officials seized the Bruce’s beachfront property from an African American couple, Charles and Willa Bruce, citing an “urgent need” to build a city park. But the area was not developed for recreational use after it was forcefully taken from the Black owners. In addition to the Bruce’s land, the city grabbed about two dozen other properties from African American families along the city’s Pacific shore using eminent domain laws.