“It’s everyone’s problem; getting people to understand that white supremacy culture doesn’t just hurt minorities, it hurts white people, too.” Law professor Eric J. Miller was adamant about the urgent need to address social justice for everyone’s benefit. “How do we change our community from tolerance for Black people to welcoming and celebrating Black people?”
Both the tangible losses – wealth, property – and the intangible losses – status, community, access – were part of the conversation around the topic of Racial Justice and Land Use at the Westside Urban Forum on Nov. 21, 2024 at the Helms Design Center.
Moderator Dr. Rhianna Rogers, Independent Researcher and former Director of the Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy and Senior Policy Researcher at the RAND Corporation, facilitated questions with panelists Tony Tolbert, Professor at UCLA School of Law; Eric J. Miller, Professor and Leo J. O’Brien Fellow at Loyola Law School; and Caroline Torosis, Council member of the City of Santa Monica who is also on the staff of L.A. County Second District Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell.
Black reparations, which several of the speakers noted already had a model in the state of California with the reparations paid to the survivors of the Japanese internment during WWII, could only be a part of the calculation of what was lost. The historic, racist standard of redlining – depriving the Black community of funding generally available to the white community and keeping them out of designated areas – was enforced by violence, often legally sanctioned violence.
The loss of property, and the lack of status, has deprived cities across America of the rich diversity that a multi-ethnic community provides. Miller noted “There are no accidental white spaces. These choices are deliberate.”
The recent standout legal settlement of Bruce’s Beach, in Manhattan Beach, was not settled by that city but by the County of Los Angeles. Torosis noted that “The Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica is a similar situation, but more legally complex. The city took the property by eminent domain, specifically to prevent it from becoming a Black beach club.” While the settlement on that property is currently being discussed, there’s no conclusion on the horizon yet. “The city of Santa Monica owns the property that the Viceroy sits on, and they [make money off the] historic injustice of that decision.”
Tolbert, who spoke about reparations as being only one part of the need for social justice around land use, also addressed the current national push against educating students about Black history. “Black history is white history, it’s American history.” The conversation continued into how to connect the communities that has been scattered, and how to offer practical, factual education in the face of political pushback.
While those who had to leave – breakfast meetings often have a very scheduled ending- departed, many stayed to talk more about the policy choices that have brought us to the current moment, and how to move forward from here.
Judith Martin-Straw
