A Different Shade of Orange: Voices of Orange County, California, Black Pioneers (review)

"Black people in Orange County? There aren't any black people in Orange County." That sentiment, used as part of the introduction of A Different Shade of Orange: Voices of Orange County, California, Black Pioneers, is a natural reaction to a book aimed at exploring the African American population of this county, which has become a national symbol of conservative homogeneity. But as authors Robert A. Johnson and Charlene M. Riggins prove, the history of that population—small as it may be—is rich, complex, and intriguing.

Consisting of twenty-six oral histories, A Different Shade of Orange was published as part of the Michi Nishiura and Walter Weglyn Multicultural Publication Series from California State University, Fullerton. This excellent series has covered everything from religious life in Southern California to the lives of Japanese American doctors in World War II detention camps.

In this book, the authors focus on the voices of those who represent the 2 percent African American population in Orange County. Through these local oral histories, the authors are able to contribute to the wider urban studies scholarship by exploring the difficulties faced by these residents but also by identifying the "normalcy" that was characteristic of their day-to-day living—something missing from many accounts of urban America, which tend to focus only on conflict (especially when telling the stories of minorities). They also show the on-the-ground agency of African American residents who may be challenged by political structures and systematic discrimination but who also find ways of negotiating those roadblocks. "Sometimes you take nine steps backwards before you take one step forward," explained activist and television executive Josephine Caines. "But sometimes that makes it even more exciting and makes me more determined" (269). Finally, and possibly most importantly, it expands the geographic limits of most stories about African Americans in the U.S.; these are stories not rooted in urban America but in a county transitioning from rural to suburban.

The authors organize the interviews by people rather than by theme, which can be both rewarding and limiting. For readers who already have an interest in the area, this is an effective structure for showcasing the richness of the lives of this small subset of Orange County. Take Ed Caruthers, for example. Caruthers moved to Orange County when he was thirteen years old and now lives there again with his family. Through excerpts from his oral history, readers learn about his experiences in the 1968 Olympics where he competed in the high jump. Caruthers spoke about his silver medal performance as well as his reaction to the black-gloved protest of Tommie Smith and John Carlos. As a portrait of a fascinating Orange Countian, this structure works well. Caruthers and others, however, also discussed the discrimination they faced when they attempted to buy houses in the area, and for some readers, it would be more helpful to have these types of stories organized together by theme.

Where this book distinguishes itself in the field of oral history is its contextualization of the interviews. The editors provide not only three prefaces, an introduction, and an especially effective afterword written by Lawrence B. de Graaf of California State University-Fullerton's Center for Oral and Public History, they also include small sidebars to many of the oral histories to give readers a frame to better understand the stories the narrators tell. In the Caruthers history mentioned above, the authors provide a short description of the historical and cultural import of the 1968 Olympics. Other sidebars allow for explanations of everything from sundown towns to the Watts riots of 1965. By putting these explanations alongside the narratives, the authors allow for context but do not interfere with the tellers as they are sharing their stories.

Ultimately, this book will find its largest audience among those who already have an interest in California history...