Genealogist Uncovers Racially Motivated Conspiracy Behind Santa Monica’s Ebony Beach Club Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kellie Farrish, Reparative Genealogy www.reparativegenealogy.com | kelliefarrish@yahoo.com | (510) 277-2610

Santa Monica, CA — September 2025 — As the City of Santa Monica declares a fiscal emergency, new genealogical and historical research reveals that one of the city’s most controversial land takings — the 1958 seizure of the Ebony Beach Club — was the result of a racially motivated conspiracy.

The research, conducted by genealogist Kellie Farrish, documents how city officials, in collusion with business leaders, used secret meetings, bribery attempts, and eminent domain to dismantle Black-owned property and cultural institutions in Santa Monica.

Key findings include:

• Illegal secret meetings between city council members and Chamber of Commerce officials in 1956 to plan redevelopment and freeway projects targeting Black neighborhoods.

• A bribery scheme involving sportswriter J. Gordon Macker, who offered to block the Ebony Beach Club in exchange for political favors, later convicted in 1958.

• Eminent domain abuse, where the city condemned Silas White’s property under the pretext of “parking,” while in reality facilitating white-led redevelopment.

• A pattern of racialized displacement, including the simultaneous destruction of the Belmar Triangle, a thriving Black community.

  
  

  “This was not neutral urban planning,” said Farrish. “It was a deliberate campaign to erase Black economic and cultural spaces in Santa Monica. The Ebony Beach Club was targeted precisely because it represented Black ownership and independence.”

The city’s recent fiscal emergency declaration raises questions about whether potential restitution claims are influencing its financial decisions.

For more information or to request the full report, contact: Kellie Farrish, Reparative Genealogy: www.reparativegenealogy.com | kelliefarrish@yahoo.com | (510) 277-2610