Ninety-year-old Connie White says her father, Silas White, always wanted to do something for his Black community in Santa Monica, California.
Several decades ago, her father opened a laundromat across from Santa Monica College, along with two real estate offices and a successful hamburger stand in the area.
Still, he wanted to do more, Connie said.
“He continued to think and think; his mind really ticked like a clock,” she told Atlanta Black Star. “He started thinking more specifically about a beach club for his people.”
She recalls being as young as 3 years old going on weekly beach trips with her father, who would only let them stay a short while because there was no place for them to change clothes other than the restroom or in their car.
Silas White’s dream of opening the Ebony Beach Club in Santa Monica would have solved that problem while also offering a space for Black artists and musicians to entertain in a location free of racial discrimination.
He envisioned the location of his club, which the family said he described as becoming “one of the best establishments in America for lodging and comfort of my people,” at the former Elks Club building on Ocean Drive in Santa Monica.
It had sat vacant for 13 years prior to Silas’ acquisition of the property in 1957, according to Where Is My Land, a small team of six that works to help hundreds of Black families find and reclaim land taken from them dating back to slavery.
Connie says her dad went through the proper steps of obtaining permits. All seemed to go well — until the city of Santa Monica stepped in, putting an end to Silas’ dream before it began.
The city used eminent domain to take Silas’ property, claiming they needed the land for a city parking lot. Silas fought the city and argued Santa Monica had not once tried to claim the property during the 13 years it sat vacant.
He erected a large sign on the building accusing the city of…
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