The couple blame California officials for what they believe is under-selling. But they are also not satisfied with the family’s decision to sell.
Ms Johnson said: “Your fight is bigger than yours.
Kavon Ward, who founded Justice for Bruce’s Beach in 2020 to lead the return of the land, said she had also hoped the Bruces would keep it. “I’m disappointed in what they decided to do with it,” she said.
Ward, chief executive officer of Where Is My Land Inc., a company that helps Black families reclaim property, said she was “still glad they got the land back,” but she was hopeful. Bruce’s heirs “will really try to realize the vision of Charles and Willa Bruce.”
Thomas W. Mitchell, director of the Land, Housing and Property Rights Initiative at Boston University Law School, said he understands why many black Americans have such an emotional attachment to Bruce Beach.
“There are ongoing harms affecting Black families in general, but it is certainly related to their experience with the property,” said Mr.
Mr. Mitchell said a handful of Blacks collectively owned millions of acres of land in the early 1900s. The Bruces, he said, represent a small, elite class who overcame countless obstacles to get to build wealth, only to be robbed.
“The Bruce’s Beach case represents the strongest possible implication of an actual claim for a single family,” said Mitchell, adding, “But it’s just one family.”
