Black Orange Fills a News Void : Magazine: Mission Viejo couple publish a monthly journal aimed at bringing a degree of unity to Orange County’s sparse African-American community.

When Joyce and Randy Jordan moved to Orange County from Chicago in 1985, they soon realized that they had to make some lifestyle adjustments.

Finding grits and sweet potatoes took trips to several markets. Locating a barber and hair stylist to cut their hair “the right way” was also a struggle, they said.

In frustration, the Mission Viejo couple--two of the estimated 40,000 black residents in Orange County--made runs into Los Angeles and Compton for supplies and an infusion of African-American culture not available this side of the “Orange Curtain.”

Over the years, the Jordans found suitable grocery stores and hair salons. But the dearth of information about businesses and events of interest to African-Americans continued to concern them.

So earlier this year, the Jordans decided to do something about it. In February, they launched the Black Orange, a monthly magazine aimed at bringing a degree of unity to the county’s sparse African-American community, which makes up 2% of the population.

“We want this to be a vehicle for people to read about themselves and know what’s going on,” said Joyce Jordan. “This is one place people can get information without looking through five different newspapers and calling five different people.”

The 48-page October issue, with a circulation of 2,500, is a mix of community news, local advertising and historical commentary.

It contains more than 40 advertisements ranging from a rib restaurant to a beauty supply shop. More than 50 calendar listings, a small help-wanted section, information about a Halloween party for black singles and a “Grand Reggae” concert are also included.

The issue also offers a profile of 19th-Century black Army colonel and businessman Allen Allensworth and excerpts from news articles discussing Columbus’ landing in America.

Some of the information is available in other publications. But for a community without an ethnic neighborhood like Little Saigon or Santa Ana’s downtown, Black Orange fans believe that the magazine goes a long way toward keeping local African-Americans in touch with each other.

“It definitely helps bring the community together,” said Pam Coffey, an advertiser who runs an African-American art gift shop in Laguna Hills. “We’re spread out and it’s hard to get to know people and find out what’s going on. This makes it easier.”

Black Orange readers are scattered throughout the county and include many professional, white-collar families whose lives mirror their white suburban neighbors just as much as African-Americans in urban areas, said Randy Jordan.

“Some people get home from a hard day of work and become TV casualties,” he said. “They understand people in the black community through TV.”

That’s where the Black Orange comes in.

With its profiles of black leaders and historical figures and its commentaries on current events, the Jordans hope to make readers more aware of the political and cultural issues facing black America.

In future issues, they plan to add a letters to the editor section as well as news articles and commentaries from outside writers.

The Black Orange is a costly passion for the Jordans--both in time and money. The magazine is published with a computer system and copier that set the couple back $20,000. Each issue costs about $2,000 to produce, far more than the $1,000 generated from advertising and subscriptions.

Both have full-time jobs--Randy, 41, is a computer network specialist and Joyce, 40, is an administrative assistant--and they are often up into the wee hours of the morning writing, editing and printing their magazine.

But they said their efforts will be worth it if the magazine becomes a full-time enterprise for Joyce.

In the process, Randy Jordan said, they hope that the magazine shows others that even if one lives in the suburbs, it’s still important to “give something back to our community.”