Silas White Street Unveiled As Santa Monica Confronts Past Racial Harms

SANTA MONICA, CA — Nearly seven decades after Black entrepreneur Silas White's vision for the Ebony Beach Club was derailed by the city, Santa Monica officials unveiled a street bearing his name Monday as the city confronts what its mayor described as racially motivated actions that denied Black families economic opportunity.

City officials, community advocates and members of the White family gathered for the dedication of Silas White Street, formerly a portion of Vicente Terrace, near the site where White planned to create a beach club welcoming Black families in the late 1950s. White's daughter, Constance White, joined the ceremony remotely.

City Manager Oliver Chi opened the ceremony by calling the dedication a moment that had been "a long time coming" and thanked the White family and its legal representatives for working with the city through the process.

White and his associates entered a lease-to-own agreement in 1957 for property at 1811 Ocean Ave., where he planned to open the Ebony Beach Club. The city initiated eminent domain proceedings the following year as part of a civic development project, and the club never opened. White died in 1962.

Mayor Caroline Torosis told Patch the city's actions were racist and said there was "racial animus" behind the decision.

"The city took racist actions using eminent domain and stole the property of what was going to be a thriving beach club for the Black community," Torosis said.

Torosis said Monday's unveiling should be viewed as the beginning, rather than the culmination, of Santa Monica's restorative justice efforts. The city has established a $5.5 million restorative justice fund, while a newly appointed Restorative Justice Commission will help shape a community-centered process for addressing past harms.

"We don't have enough money to repair the harms that our government has perpetuated against Black families in the city. Period," Torosis said during the ceremony. "But what I can tell you is that this entire council unanimously feels that it is our moral obligation to do something, and words are not enough."

Speaking exclusively to Patch, Torosis distinguished the White family's experience from other high-profile restitution efforts such as Bruce's Beach.

"This is not a land back case. This is a lost economic opportunity case," Torosis said. "We're compensating a family for lost economic opportunity, but we are also honoring the legacy, and we're looking at how they are the first in a process for other families as well."

In 2024, the White family renewed efforts to seek redress for the city's seizure of the property, prompting the City Council to investigate its history and possible remedies. Council unanimously approved mediation in July 2025 and later approved a $350,000 settlement with Constance White in November. The agreement included no admission of liability and also called for Silas White Day, a library exhibit and the street renaming celebrated Monday.

Councilmembers Ellis Raskin, Barry Snell and Natalya Zernitskaya also attended the ceremony, along with White family attorney Sadára DeVonne and community activist Robbie Jones.

Torosis told Patch the work is only beginning.

"We have $5.5 million that the city is dedicating toward this process to look at how we repair past harm, but then also create opportunities for future economic success, home ownership opportunities, entrepreneurship opportunities and workforce development," she said.