In the News

Multimillion-dollar beach property taken from Black owners in Jim Crow era is cleared to be returned

October 01, 2021

(CNN) A stretch of prime Southern California beachfront real estate can now be returned to the descendants of its rightful Black owners, nearly a century after the parcel was taken by the city of Manhattan Beach.

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After California moves to return Bruce's Beach to Black family, a push to recover other seized land

October 01, 2021

LOS ANGELES — With the flick of a pen Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom codified the return of prime beachfront property in Southern California to the descendants of a Black couple who were stripped of their land and driven out by the Ku Klux Klan nearly 100 years ago.

California lawmakers this month unanimously passed a law to allow the return of what was once a thriving coastal resort that catered to Black residents when racial segregation barred them from many beaches.

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California governor signs host of police reforms including decertification, duty to intervene

October 01, 2021

GARDENA, Calif. - Standing among lawmakers and families whose sons died at the hands of police, Gov.  Gavin Newsom signed a host of reform bills that span from decertifying police officers from ever getting another job to opening up records when there has been sustained findings of racism.  Other new laws open up records, put stricter laws into place when tear gas can be used and forbids the use of traditional face-down holds that cause "positional asphyxia." 

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How a Black lawmaker from L.A. won a ‘mammoth fight’ to oust bad cops

October 01, 2021

SACRAMENTO — In 2019, Fouzia Almarou was speaking at a police reform rally at Rowley Park in Gardena when a man she didn’t know made her a promise she didn’t quite trust.

Gardena police had shot Almarou’s son, Kenneth Ross Jr., at the park a year earlier, and she was marking the one-year “angel-versary” of his death.

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LA County one step closer to possible return of Bruce's Beach; Great-great-grandson thanks supporters

October 01, 2021

LOS ANGELES - Imagine it’s the early 1900s. Bruce’s Beach was a thriving resort for Black residents along the strand. 

In the 1920s, the beachfront property was taken from the Bruch family by the City of Manhattan Beach using eminent domain. In 1995, it was transferred to the state and then to Los Angeles County. 

On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom made it legally possible to transfer it yet again. This time, by signing a measure giving authority to the county, it can go back to the Bruce family.

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Newsom Signs Bills That Bring Greater Accountability For California Law Enforcement Agencies

September 30, 2021

OS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Governor Gavin Newsom signed eight new bills into law Thursday in Gardena that will set in motion sweeping changes for law enforcement.

“We have a lot to be proud of, but there are areas where there is nothing to brag about,” Newsom said Thursday.

During the signing, Newsom was flanked by family members of people killed by law enforcement, including the mother of Kenneth Ross Jr., an unarmed man having a mental crisis. Ross Jr. was shot in the back and killed by a Gardena Police officer.

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Bruce’s Beach Is Going Back To The Family’s Descendants, After Newsom Signs Bill And Apologizes On Behalf Of California

September 30, 2021

A bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom Thursday brings the Bruce family one step closer to owning the plot of land in Manhattan Beach that once belonged to their ancestors: Willa and Charles Bruce.

Senate Bill 796, authored by Steve Bradford (D), gives Los Angeles County the legal authority to transfer the property to the descendants.

The Bruce’s owned and operated a coastal resort that was popular with Black beachgoers, and an oasis for recreation during the Jim Crow era. From 1912 to 1924, a thriving community was built around it.

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Newsom approves decertification system for rogue cops

September 30, 2021

(CN) — California Governor Gavin Newsom inked a broad package of criminal justice reforms Thursday, highlighted by a decertification process for officers who wrongly kill or use excessive force against civilians.

The feature legislation, Senate Bill 2, aligns California with nearly every other state and creates an official process to strip badges from rogue officers. The new law also reduces immunity provisions for officers to make it easier for victims of police violence to pursue wrongful death and other civil rights claims in state court.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom will sign Bruce’s Beach bill today

September 30, 2021

A state bill paving the way for Los Angeles County to return two plots of oceanfront land on Manhattan Beach to descendants of former black owners was enacted on Thursday, September 30, with Governor Gavin Newsom at a noon ceremony.

A joint state-county effort to return land that was once the Brutin Beach Lodge, an early 20th-century seaside resort for African Americans at the time when blacks had restricted access to the coast. Is the first time in Japan. The official who led it said that it was able to set the stage for discussions on national reparations.

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Newsom signs police reform bill to banish bad cops

September 30, 2021

Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed four bills into law aimed at police reform, including one that creates a process for decertifying officers who engage in misconduct, preventing them from moving to another agency.

The law sets up an advisory committee that will review misconduct cases and make recommendations to the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, which could then suspend or revoke officers’ certifications.

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