Two Black men, Gage Crismond and Brick Howze, were surfing near Manhattan Beach pier when a white man paddled to them and called them racial slurs. Other white surfers told them that Manhattan Beach is a locals-only beach and that they should surf somewhere else. They shared what happened on social media, and as more people commented, they organized a “Peace Paddle” to promote surfing as a sport for everybody.
Also in Manhattan Beach, a park called Bruce’s Beach has been the site of racial justice protests over the past year. But a century ago, it was a resort community catering to African Americans. The city seized the land, and now there’s talk of returning it to the Bruce family’s living descendants.