SOCIAL INSECURITY : If You’re Black in Orange County, Options for Making Friends Can Be Bleak . . . at First

Congratulations! You’ve landed that big promotion and you’re moving to Orange County, one of the most affluent, expensive and fast-growing areas in the nation.

There are a lot of things to do here when you get off work, right? Surfing, trendy restaurants, night life and countless opportunities to meet and socialize with other people just like yourself. Well, that’s not always so, if you happen to be black.

According to a survey by Donnelley Demographics, blacks make up only 1.6% of the population in Orange County. The 32,000 here are scattered from Seal Beach to San Clemente, so there is no identifiable “black community” or central location as in other metropolitan areas in which they can gather to socialize and exchange information.

Newcomers often find Orange County to be a hard nut to crack. For blacks, the first few months here can be frustrating, boring or downright depressing. They have no idea where to find a black hairdresser or pick up a black newspaper. And worse, they don’t have a clue as to where to go and meet other blacks who can provide some answers.

“I was here 2 1/2 years before I decided I didn’t want to leave,” said Garilynn (Gee) Dickson, a Mission Viejo resident and president of The Neighbors, a group of about 80 black families that welcomes black newcomers to the county. “I didn’t know anyone, especially blacks. That was the reason for our organization, because so many other people felt the same way.

“People hear about us or we run into them at the grocery store or while shopping. Sometimes I just approach people and say, ‘How are you doing? Do you live in the area and do you have any kids?’ Then I invite them to the next function. Sooner or later you will run into a couple that knows about The Neighbors.”

Gwendolyn Kenner Johnson, who has lived in Chicago, San Diego and Oakland, said she never had problems connecting with other blacks until she and her husband moved to Irvine a year ago.

“Orange County is very different from any other place I have lived because it’s a conglomerate of little cities. It makes it difficult to know where the center is, because there really is no center and there is no sense of neighborhood,” Johnson said. “There is no place to go and get information . . . so it makes it very difficult for a newcomer.”

Despite the small number of blacks, there is an active network of social, political and professional organizations in Orange County that provides a variety of outlets for adults and children. Most of the national black sororities and fraternities have chapters here, there are branches of the NAACP and the National Urban League, black Masonic lodges and about 30 black churches.

While blacks who belong to organizations may find it easier to gain entrance to the social scene, those who are not affiliated with any groups are often left out.

“Just by having an organizational tie, you can locate local chapters. You see people in the store and you ask them to come with you to meetings and events. You learn things here basically by word of mouth,” said Gloria Dredd Haney, a college professor and president of the Ethnic Women’s Network of California, an advocacy group that was founded two years ago to bring issues concerning minority women to the forefront.

Each year, the black organizations in Orange County come together to sponsor a formal Christmas dance, an event that has grown from about 200 guests when it began in 1986 to about 500 last year.

“To us, that’s a beginning. We meet once a year to recognize we are here and that we are actively trying to do things. And it gives us an opportunity to meet other blacks,” said Haney, who lives in Anaheim Hills.

Lorna Reddicks moved to Garden Grove a year ago from Atlanta. Because she had no ties here, the transition from a predominantly black city to an area that is about 87% white was difficult.

“I had a problem just knowing where to go and find the black population in Orange County. I heard (blacks) were in Santa Ana, so I went to Santa Ana and I didn’t find them. I was asking people in the stores, the clerks, where to go and get your hair done or to get your makeup,” said Reddicks, who works in the advertising department of a home supply company.

“When you’re the only black person in your office, that doesn’t help. I just made work occupy my time. It was the main part of my life. What I really hate is that I didn’t want it to be like that. In Atlanta, there was a large black population at work and at the apartments where I lived. Since I’ve been here, I eat alone and I go to plays alone. My biggest support as far as knowing where to go has been the (Los Angeles) radio stations.”

It is only a short drive to Los Angeles, which has more than 500,000 blacks, or San Diego, where there are almost 80,000, but many Orange County blacks said they would rather seek out local activities than bother with the traffic and crime in other cities.

“This is one of the best organized communities in the world,” Irvine resident Ervin Smith said, referring to the black network operating in Orange County.

“You never have to go to Los Angeles. Cal State Fullerton has a light opera. There are lots of theatrical productions here. We’ve got restaurants. If people want to go to the city, they fly their plane to Paris. That’s the sort of attitude you have here,” said Smith, who is a member of the Black Business Advocacy Board, a group that promotes the development of black-owned businesses in the county.

According to U.S. Census data, blacks who live in Orange County tend to be middle-class families who moved here from other areas of the country. They are generally college-educated and are professionals.

“We are fortunate in Orange County that most of the blacks are middle-class to upper-middle-class, but they don’t know about each other,” said James L. Flournoy, a Garden Grove attorney and chairman of the Black Republican Council, a political advocacy group. “We bring them together (with cocktail mixers) so they can exchange business cards. It’s not only for blacks and Republicans, it’s for everyone. We think that through intermixing . . . everybody benefits.”

The seven-year-old Black Actors Theatre has played a major role in the development and the acceptance of black arts and culture in Orange County. But according to the director, Adleane Hunter, some blacks still have a negative perception about what they can expect from life in a predominantly white area.

Hunter is critical of those who feel they must go to Los Angeles for entertainment. She said blacks should take advantage of the same cultural and social activities that whites enjoy in Orange County.

“One of the biggest myths we have to change is that if it is happening in Orange County, it’s not happening for us. People drive here to see (black plays) from Pasadena, Riverside, Rialto and Los Angeles,” said Hunter, who lives in Santa Ana. “Some of us feel if it’s happening here, it’s not as good as what is happening in L.A. I know a lot of those perceptions about what’s happening in L.A. are a myth.”

Hunter, who grew up in Orange County, said the social climate for blacks has improved in the past five to 10 years, mostly because of efforts by black organizations. Before then, churches were the only outlets for socializing and meeting other blacks, she said.

The black organizations now fill the void.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a public service organization of college-educated women, sponsors a masquerade ball each spring; the Links, a female social and civic group, puts on a debutante ball; the Black Republican Council holds a cocktail mixer every month; Jack and Jill of America, a parent group that provides educational and cultural programs for minority youth, holds an annual family picnic; the Orange County Black Historical Commission sponsors the Black History Parade, and the Orange County Black Actors Theatre presents a variety of black-oriented plays as well as the annual Ebony Fashion Fair.

Like many parents, Hunter said she and her husband are concerned that their children, ages 19, 13 and 10, be exposed to black culture so that they can have a positive self-image.

“Girls seem to have a more difficult time with reinforcement than boys. If boys are athletic, they tend to fit in. When girls reach a certain age, they don’t get invited out because their (white friends) are dating and there’s nobody for them to date,” Hunter said.

“That’s why (the Black Actors Theatre) started bringing the Ebony Fashion Fair here. They got a chance to see beautiful black women. And it said to them, ‘You are beautiful too.’ ”

Haney, who grew up in Compton and moved here eight years ago from Cerritos, said she and her husband joined Jack and Jill for the same reason.

“My son is attending Imperial Elementary School in Anaheim Hills, and there aren’t that many black children on the campus. It appeared he was losing his identity, and I felt strongly he needed to have that exposure,” she said.

“Without meaning any harm, the kids would say to him, ‘You’re black, you can’t be He-Man.’ Jack and Jill gives us a chance to meet other families with similar interests and goals. And on Sundays we still go to the church in Los Angeles that was founded by my grandfather.”

James Tippins, who runs Tippins Seafood Connection restaurant in Santa Ana with his wife, Delores, said he sent his daughter to graduate school in Washington so that she would have more exposure to blacks.

“I feel these kids are getting culturally robbed. If you live in Irvine or Anaheim, there are no social activities for kids. This is an area where the churches should pick up the slack, but they don’t,” he said.

As a result, Tippins said, some black children grow up with an identity problem and they have difficulty coping with racial challenges.

“When you get out on Bristol (Street), you’re just another black on the street, and (whites) are going to treat you that way. You have to know you’re black and feel good about it. It’s the responsibility of the parents and the churches to make sure the culture is carried out.”

There are at least seven black churches that provide social outlets, ranging from an annual debutante ball to softball leagues. The Black Ministerial Alliance, composed of ministers from all denominations, serves as a voice for religious and civil rights causes.

When Tippins, a former Marine, moved to Santa Ana in 1959, there were several black-owned businesses and clubs, but most of them failed financially and had shut down by 1973, he said. There are currently no black-owned clubs in the county, so blacks must go to predominantly white clubs where they sometimes are not wanted, he said.

“What normally happens when a substantial black clientele shows up and there is mixing going on, (white club owners) will change the music to a hillbilly setting or something blacks don’t appreciate. And they do it to their own financial detriment,” he said.

James Colquitt, local president of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, said race relations have improved in Orange County in recent years and that there does not seem to be as much overt discrimination.

“Orange County is no different than anywhere else. You could have trouble in Los Angeles if you go to the wrong place,” he said.

Charges of discrimination at the Red Onion restaurant and disco in Santa Ana have been the subject of widespread publicity. During 1986 and 1987, more than 75 people filed discrimination complaints against the club, claiming they were denied admission because of their race. Most of the cases were settled in favor of the complainants, and the Red Onion adopted non-discriminatory hiring and training policies.

Charles Mosley, owner of an Irvine balloon and gift company, said the case sent a message to other businesses that overt discrimination would not be tolerated in Orange County.

“With the visibility of the Red Onion situation, anything that was going on was probably squashed by that. That’s probably why it was handled that way . . . to show the Orange County restaurant and nightclub owners that the powers that be are not going to tolerate that. It would paint a dim picture of the business community if that were going on,” Mosley said.

“In my line of business, I go in and out of places all the time. If there is discrimination, it is subtle.”

The Orange County Human Relations Commission, a county agency set up 17 years ago to address problems of discrimination and racism, has never received any complaints against restaurants and nightclubs other than the Red Onion, vice chairman Jerome Hunter said.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Lots of times, I suspect, people don’t know what type of recourse they have available to them,” Hunter said, adding that some cases may go unreported.

The popular Costa Mesa nightspot Kiss The Club, which opened two years ago, is one of the few white-owned clubs in the area that cater to blacks. On Friday and Saturday nights, the clientele is 85% to 90% black, according to the owner, Tom Elsea.

“In the nightclub business, you target a market and you specialize in it. People nowadays don’t go out to the same place night after night, but they will go a particular night for a particular event. For the black clientele, Friday and Saturday are their nights here,” Elsea said.

“Sunday we have a Salsa program and Tuesday is bikini night. The music changes depending on which group is there. We do extremely well on Fridays and Saturdays when the clientele is black. The whites come because they like to socialize with blacks or they just enjoy the music. But there is no mistaking what our weekend program is.”

Darren Veal of Huntington Beach said he has had no problems finding an active night life in Orange County. His favorite spots are Kiss The Club and Twain’s Down Under in Santa Ana. He said friends suggested the Red Onion to him because it has a nice happy hour.

“I don’t base a company on their past. At first I was a little leery about going there,” Veal said. “It was suggested to me several times and I didn’t go. But when I finally went, it was nice. I haven’t had any problems there and I’ve been going for at least a year. None of my friends have had problems either.”

Veal, who moved here four years ago from Dayton, Ohio, agreed that it is difficult to meet other blacks in Orange County, particularly women.

“It seems like most of the black population in Orange County came as couples. Most of the women I talk to in the clubs (in Orange County) come from L.A. County or Riverside County. There are lots of black men around here. I guess that’s why you see quite a few of them with white females. I guess that could be an option for me, but it’s not one I’m really seeking. I prefer a black lady.”

Sandy Lynch, who moved here from Springfield, Ohio, five years ago, said she has learned to have a good time in Orange County, but it didn’t come easy. It’s something she has to work hard at.

“There are people to meet. You just have to get out there and don’t sit in a corner,” she said. “I’ve learned you have to create your own network; nobody will do it for you.”