The beach has featured a memorial plaque to Willa and Charles for years. However, the state legislature had to pass a law to allow the return of the property. BBC News states, “the motion to return the land acknowledged, ‘it is well documented that this move was a racially motivated attempt to drive out the successful black business and its patrons‘.” This win is the result of a lengthy campaign and difficult processes — including the legal battle, complicated appraisals, an economic analysis to estimate the current value of the lots, and genealogy studies to locate direct heirs of Willa and Charles.

This week the land was returned to two of Willa and Charles’ great-grandsons. In addition to getting property rights to the land, LA county signed a lease agreement for $413,000 a year to continue operating on the beachfront. The agreement also includes a clause allowing the county future purchase of the land for up to $20M plus transaction costs.

Bruce Beach