COUNTYWIDE : Clear Skies Greet Black Unity Expo

Taking advantage of clear skies and the chance to celebrate black heritage locally, more than 350 people took part Sunday in the Black Historical Commission’s Unity Exposition in Tustin.

The 14-year-old festival featured performances by local groups and vendors selling food, books and gift items, drawing families from throughout the region looking for a taste of African-American life within the county.

James Lewis of Santa Ana said he brought his family to look at the offerings and expose his two daughters to African-American culture. He said it was nice to find an event that augmented his daughters’ school lessons on black history, without having to drive up to Los Angeles.

“Down here I feel a little safer,” he said. “Things get a little hectic up that way.”

Lewis and his wife, Patty, browsed the tables of African art, jewelry, clothing and books, buying their daughter Chantal, 7, a picture book, and looking at a beaded necklace for their other daughter, Rashel, 14.

Ardena Layne of Lake Forest, who moved to Orange County from Los Angeles about a year ago, said it was nice to learn about new services, civic groups and products marketed toward African-Americans in the county. “I spend a good portion of my time on the freeway to L.A.,” she said. “This is nice. There’s a man here who has a store in Culver City, but he was down here today.”

Carmella Vann, 17, who last May became the city’s first black Miss Tustin, said the festival showed important changes occurring in the region. “Orange County is now becoming a more diverse county,” she said. “And more races are being represented. In the past, they weren’t.”

Throughout the day, with actor Roger E. Mosley of the television show “Hanging With Mr. Cooper” as master of ceremonies, groups from various cities performed skits and dances for the crowd. Members of the Tustin High School African-American Student Alliance performed “Why I Wasn’t Told,” a short play about blacks throughout history.

Judy Sampson, the group’s adviser, said the students were given the opportunity to select works from any writer they wanted. “They put the play together themselves as a group,” she said.

The students gave short autobiographical sketches of Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Angela Davis and others, and recited poetry. They spent about three weeks putting their production together and first performed it for a school assembly on Feb. 10, Sampson said.

“I’m just very proud of them,” Sampson said. “I think they did a great job.”

While past festivals have been in Santa Ana, this is the first year the event was held in Tustin. Organizers switched locations after the city of Santa Ana pulled its funding for the Black History Parade last year, leading to cancellation of this year’s parade. The parade usually precedes the festival.

“Just to open the doors, just to start is great,” said David Grace, one of the commission’s members. “There’s never been anything like this in Tustin before.”

Grace said the commission plans to have next year’s parade in Tustin. He said the commission wants to vary the location of future parades to spread awareness of African-Americans throughout the county.

Said Grace: “You probably haven’t seen this many black people in Tustin in quite a while, and believe me, next year will be bigger and better.”