Are there any Black folks in Orange County? (Los Angeles, Irvine: house, high school)

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by IloveOC

I know that question was referring to the current time - but it made me remember back in 1966 when we rented an apartment in Santa Ana and we were told they did not allow blacks in the complex and basically having any friends that were would not be tolerated. We had friends who were in the Marines and they came to visit. They brought one of their buddies along and he happened to be black. He was a very nice guy and even brought an Easter gift for my baby. We were later asked/told to leave because we broke the rules. He was in the Marines to fight for our country - I just did not understand the whole thing. We also had another friend who was black and in the Marines. But come to think of it - I don't remember very many back then. I didn't think of them any different than they were many miles away from home and didn't have a family there to celebrate holidays with so we included them. They were friends of my friends so they were welcome.

What a difference 40 years makes huh? When we were looking for our first home we decided we wanted something charming and older so started out looking in
So LA west of the Harbor Freeway, probably between Manchester and Century Blvd. The realtor assured us, all the streets would continue to be all white cause no one would sell to and i won't use the word. Long story short, we decided to go east and north where we would get more for our money and needless to say the area in so L.A. did change. The amazing thing, we didn't care but I guess the realtor though we would. This was about 1960

Nita

[treebw]

That is why I think some of the neighborhoods stay segregated.

There is actually an area of Garden grove called Little Saigon...named that by the residents of the area. It is a bit well known that white people should not move in, if white people go to the stores the prices are raised, the whole thing.

I think one of the reasons more black people live in LA is because OC was so small back when LA got popular, at that time OC was still orange groves and ranches. My HS was not actually built until the 1930's at which point LA was obvioulsy well established. Back then OC was still just really wealthy people and farmers.

Plus, So CA used to be Mexico...that says a lot for how it is racially 'disbursed'.

[treebw]

Nita--

Good point...I think it was in 1977 (?) that the law was passed in CA (or was it just LA County?) that stated realtors and lenders could not discriminate against black home buyers.

When I went to realtor school I was admittedly a bit shocked to find out that black people could not readily buy a home until then...though I am sure that it still took a few years or longer for it to be an easier process.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Charles

A buddy of mine once said to me back in the mid 1980s: "You'll see more blacks at a Kings (hockey) game than you will at an Angel game."

Even if the Angels were playing Eastern or Midwestern teams?

In the mid 80s much of the Anaheim crowds weren't there to see the Angels. I would be surprised if Angels-White Sox games in particular (considering the White Sox' fanbase in Chicago being disproportionately black, although not exclusively) had black turnouts.

As for African-Americans and other blacks in OC, check out UC Irvine. It attracts all races and ethnicities.

[majoun]

[quote=treebw;7858034]
I think one of the reasons more black people live in LA is because OC was so small back when LA got popular, at that time OC was still orange groves and ranches. My HS was not actually built until the 1930's at which point LA was obvioulsy well established. Back then OC was still just really wealthy people and farmers. ['QUOTE]

Oil workers, also.
And remember where those oil workers and farmers were from - they brought some of the more negative aspects of their home regions with them to OC, such as the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK was very big in pre-WW2 OC, and the Klan forcibly drove out black farmworkers which gave OC a bad rep amongst African-Americans even after the Klan (fortunately) died out.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by treebw

Nita--

Good point...I think it was in 1977 (?) that the law was passed in CA (or was it just LA County?) that stated realtors and lenders could not discriminate against black home buyers.

When I went to realtor school I was admittedly a bit shocked to find out that black people could not readily buy a home until then...though I am sure that it still took a few years or longer for it to be an easier process.

The Rumford Act, which prohibited racial discrimination in housing in CA by landlords, owners, and realtors, was passed in 1963, then repealed by the controversial initiative Proposition 14 (the Prop 8 of the '60s). Prop 14 caused the federal government to cut off all housing money to California. It was overturned by the California Supreme Court in 1966 and the Rumford Act was restored.

The Holden Act of 1977 prohibited discrimination by lenders.

[treebw]

Thanks for the info... I tested for Realtor while doing loans, that would explain why 1977 stuck in my head.

[treebw]

In regards to the KKK; I am not sure where you live or if you are aware of this, majoun, but they actually still meet out in Fontana, which apparently has one of the largest Klans in the country.

[dreamerman]

It's like 1.72% in OC. Yeah, very few blacks. Then again, I'm a black Californian residing in LA County and I don't venture in OC.

[Suspect]

if there were more black people lived in Orange County there would be a more problems with gangs.
i don't think the huge Hispanic and White population would allow it to take place.