By Rosy Lawrence | January 5, 2023
In the early 1900’s, Black couple Willa and Charles Bruce were pushed out of a bustling resort that they built with their own money. The resort was beloved by the area’s Black community however, some White folks intervened to force the family out of the area.
City officials later condemned their property in 1924 through eminent domain, claiming that they needed the property to build a park. The city officials demolished the family’s resort and the Bruce family was forced to move away. Unsurprisingly, the park that was promised was not built on that land for decades.
It took 100 years for the government to realize the wrong they had done to the Bruce family and they finally made the decision to return the land to the descendants of the Bruces’ in June.
This was a historic day for the Black communities!
