In 2020, after moving to Manhattan Beach and learning the Bruce’s Beach history, something in my spirit felt called to act. God gave me an assignment and I had to oblige. For over a year, I leveraged my own resources, time, and community members to mobilize for the Bruce family.
When I caught wind of George Fatheree’s lies on the Dominique DiPrima show, I was disappointed but not surprised. Fatheree claimed, after stumbling over his words, that anyone who believes that the Bruce family did not donate to WIML after our CEO’s tireless advocacy and championing of their campaign for restitution, ‘needs to get their facts straight.’ So let’s get them straight. The donation Fatheree referred to was one his own firm made, we did not receive one red cent from the Bruce family. No good deed goes unpunished.
In my work with the Bruce’s, I quickly realized the need to scale this work and fight for hundreds, if not thousands of families with similar stories. Who dreamed of owning the same lands they and their ancestors were forced to work and build up. This was bigger than the Bruce family, it always was.
When Anthony Bruce pledged a $1 million dollar investment to Where Is My Land in its infancy, I was thrilled. Those dollars would have undoubtedly been pivotal in securing a team, advancing WIML infrastructure, and ultimately our mission. Upon follow-up, he backtracked and said that the family was pivoting and only giving organizers $10,000. The 99% decrease took our organization by surprise and we declined the consolation donation.
I didn’t widely publicize the Bruce family’s disgusting display of individualism when it initially happened and it is absolutely revolting that their family's attorney would go on air last month and blatantly lie about their donation to my organization.
The harm that Anthony Bruce exacted on me affected me in a number of ways and Fatheree’s lies just compounded that trauma. This harm the rampant individualism and misogynoir in our community. Instead of paying it forward and making a significant investment to the movement, the Bruce’s took a page out of the capitalist handbook and decided to hoard the resources that we helped them win back in the first place. White supremacy, individualism and capitalism made the Bruce family abandon the very community that lifted them.
In Community,
Kavon Ward
