*Black entrepreneur Silas White owned the land where the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica now stands. He died in 1962, four years after the city acquired the property through eminent domain. White’s descendants now call on the city to return the land to the family.
NBC Los Angeles reports that White purchased the site in 1957 “and the former Elks Lodge building that sat on it, just two blocks from the beach, with hopes of turning the space into the Ebony Beach Club, a place where the local Black community could come together and socialize,” the outlet writes.
A year later, the city exercised eminent domain to acquire the property and demolished the building.
“We were all silent about it, and Milana even lived with my mom for a while and she mentioned that my mother never said anything about it,” said Connie White, Silas’ daughter, per NBC Los Angeles.
“They claim that the reason they took it was because it was needed for a public parking lot,” Davis’ niece, Milana Davis, explained. “But eight years after they took it from him, it was suddenly found to be the perfect spot for a first-class four-star hotel.”
The City of Santa Monica collects rent from the Viceroy as part of a long-term lease agreement.
“I’ve gone through disbelief at what occurred and what happened to him and what he endured,” Davis said of her uncle.
The family has teamed with the organization Where Is My Land? to get the City of Santa Monica to return the land to White’s descendants.
“He wanted it to be a haven for Black and also brown people, and people of color, period, where they could go and relax and enjoy themselves,” White said.
Per NBC News Los Angeles, the City of Santa Monica did not acknowledge White’s case in a statement, but said in part:
“Santa Monica hears and acknowledges the voices on this topic in the community and is actively seeking appropriate and realistic remedies. We know that for those who have been wronged by the city’s past discriminatory practices, justice can’t come soon enough, and we take what we’ve learned from the families and individuals who have been harmed by these acts very seriously. We are a better city because of their continued attention to these issues and we are committed to getting this right.”
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