In her latest book, Living the California Dream – African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era, author Alison Rose Jefferson brings long-overdue attention to a largely overlooked chapter of American history: the creation of Black leisure spaces in California and across the West.
Jefferson’s research reframes the story of the Great Migration, showing that as African Americans moved west beginning in the early 20th century, they were not just seeking opportunity. They were actively shaping culture, community, and regional identity. While the Jim Crow South enforced segregation through explicit laws, Jefferson notes that discrimination in California often operated more subtly, embedded in local practices, policies, and social norms.
During a Black History Month presentation hosted by Black Women for Wellness on Feb. 13, Jefferson detailed how African Americans carved out spaces for recreation, relaxation, and community in the face of persistent exclusion. Her work focuses on several key Southern California sites, including Bruce’s Beach in Manhattan Beach, the Lakeshore Beach Club in Lake Elsinore, and Bay Street Beach in Santa Monica.
One of the most well-known examples, Bruce’s Beach, was founded in 1912 by Willa and Charles Bruce, who purchased oceanfront land to create a resort for Black families barred from other beaches—the site quickly became a thriving destination, drawing visitors from across the region. Its success encouraged other African Americans to purchase nearby land and build vacation homes, forming a vibrant coastal community.
But that success was met with hostility. White neighbors and members of the Ku Klux Klan harassed the Bruces and their guests, using intimidation tactics that included arson and violence. When those efforts failed to drive the family out, the city of Manhattan Beach seized the property in 1924 through eminent domain, claiming it would be used for a public park. The Bruces challenged the decision but ultimately lost their land.
Nearly a century later, California passed legislation to return the property to the Bruce family’s descendants—a move Jefferson acknowledges as meaningful, but incomplete.
“These moves are good things, but this restitution does not provide tangible collective benefits to the purged African Americans of all classes from Manhattan Beach,” Jefferson said. “Nor does it restore the loss of a vibrant socioeconomic cultural space.”
Further inland, Lake Elsinore emerged as another important hub for Black leisure. Known for its mineral waters and resort culture, the area drew visitors seeking relaxation and healing from the late 1800s through the mid-20th century. By the 1920s, Black entrepreneurs began establishing businesses, purchasing vacation homes, and investing in resort development.
The Lakeshore Beach Club became one of the largest resorts catering to African Americans, backed by prominent Black leaders including physician Wilbur C. Gordon, attorney Charles Darden, businesswoman Sally Taylor Richardson, and businessman Arthur L. Reese. Despite these contributions, Jefferson notes that the role of Black developers and visitors has largely been erased from local historical narratives.
A similar pattern unfolded in Corona, where the Park Ridge Country Club, a Black-owned resort established in 1927, faced strong opposition from White residents. The efforts of Black entrepreneurs to build successful ventures in the area have since been largely omitted from public memory, limiting a full understanding of the region’s history.
Along the coast in Santa Monica, African Americans established a lasting presence near Bay Street Beach as early as the late 19th century. Centered around Phillips Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the area became a gathering place for Black beach goers from across Los Angeles.
While White residents referred to the area using a derogatory nickname, many in the Black community reclaimed the space as a symbol of pride and belonging. Accessible by streetcar, Bay Street Beach became both a refuge and a hub for Black-owned businesses and cultural life.
Despite ongoing discrimination and efforts to displace Black residents and businesses, the community endured. In 2005, Santa Monica recognized Phillips Chapel as a local landmark, paving the way for the designation of the Bay Street Historic District in 2008.
Jefferson hopes her work will help restore these stories to their rightful place in history and highlight the resilience and vision of Black communities.
“I’m interested in people understanding that Black people have been here and enjoying the resources that California has to offer,” she said, “even if sometimes they were pushed around in terms of prejudice or discrimination.”
Through her re-search, Jefferson not only documents the past. She challenges how history is remembered, and who gets to be included in the telling.
