If you have stories, documents, images, letters, or more that speak to the lived experiences of Black people in OC that you want to share, please reach out.
<aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_purple.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_purple.svg" width="40px" /> Thank you for visiting the #Networked OC community feedback page. This project seeks to creatively document the past, present and future of Black-Owned businesses, and community organizations in Orange County, CA, using interactive digital maps and data storytelling. Students enrolled in various courses at California State University Fullerton spent the past year conducting original research for this project under the supervision of Dr. Jamila Moore Pewu ([email protected] @profpewu). This included conducting interviews with local business owners, combing through local archives and experimenting with new technologies in hopes of doing more than just placing Black-owned businesses on a map. Rather, the goal of this project is to support the county’s Black business community by using digital tools and technologies to tell their stories in ways that are creative, accessible, equitable, and impactful. Keep scrolling to learn more and leave us your feedback.
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This prototype, of our 3D map helps to visualize the lives of the residents of Little Texas using new data from the release of the 1950 United States Census. In the 1950s, OCs Black community nearly tripled and most of this growth was concentrated in Little Texas. Little Texas was located on the western edge of Santa Ana, and centered around north Bristol Street between First and Fourth Streets. It was affectionately named after the long star state because many of the neighborhood’s Black residents hailed from Texas.
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This map illustrates the Black-owned businesses in the #NetworkedOC project within the context of their location’s circumstantial characteristics. The green gradient that spans Orange County represents the range of the total population’s per capita income. The lightest shade of these represents income brackets of $12,000 and under while the darkest represent incomes upwards of $130,000 or more. The spaces between Anaheim, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana are a stark contrast to the more affluent coastal cities. It is likely not incidental that most of the Black-owned businesses in our dataset are within this area of the county as well. Moreover, the number of businesses past Irvine, in the wealthier regions, do not exceed ten. This map also illustrates how dispersed these businesses are from one another. There are only two areas where more than three businesses are located within one block of each other.