After the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, the quickly-developing city became a fantasy for writers, publicists, and entrepreneurs to paint as a “whites only” paradise in the making.
When Black people were restricted from accessing certain southern California beach front properties thanks to, as historian Ryans Reft explains, “zoning laws, private covenants, and physical harassment,” residents founded these magnificent hot spots to serve their leisure needs instead.
First there was Santa Monica’s The Inkwell. Established in the late 1800s, hard working Black folks could take it easy within a number of the Santa Monica boardwalk’s Black-owned establishments, like La Bonita Bathhouse, Thurman's Rest A While Apartments, and the Dew Drop Inn and Café.
Then came Bruce’s Beach in 1912, which also had its share of Black-owned businesses. If this is your first time hearing about these peaceful enclaves, there’s a reason they’ve been obscured from the history books.
White historians and preservationists preferred to leave these spaces condemned and obscured than share the real story of how we resolved to enjoy our rights by any means.
All the more reason we must tell history like it is - not whatever version makes white people look justified or even innocent in their motivations to restrict access to leisure spaces like the beautiful beaches of SoCal.