What’s so threatening about the sight of Black people relaxing? Tony and Adam tell the story of a thriving Black-owned beach resort near L.A. that was shut down by the government - with a dramatic new reparations twist. We also look at ways the city could get Black people to come back. Special guest: pioneering historian Alison Rose Jefferson.

SHOW NOTES

Guest:  Alison Rose Jefferson

Alison is a historian and scholar-in-residence at Occidental College. Her book "Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era" is available at Eso Won Books and other Black booksellers.

• Alison’s home page
• Alison’s commemorative justice project for the City of Santa Monica, CA

Highlights of episode:

[0:36] Why are whites so bothered by Black people relaxing in public?

[7:02] The story of Bruce’s Beach

[19:36] Breaking news on reparations at Bruce’s Beach

[22:20] Tony and Adam’s plan to draw Black people back

[33:24] How listeners can get involved

Robert Brigham’s grad school thesis, “Land Ownership and Occupancy by Negroes in Manhattan Beach” (1956) is HERE

H.R. 40 (Bill to Set Up Commission to Study Reparations for African Americans):

• Text of H.R. 40
• H.R. 40 passes out of House Judiciary Committee
• Find Your Representative

Contact Tony & Adam

Subscribe!

Transcript of episode