It has been 54 years since Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Orange County on March 19, 1968. The occasion of his only visit to the county was the annual convention of the California Democratic Council held at the Anaheim Convention Center. While much has changed since then, much more remains to be done to fulfill his vision of a just society in Orange County and beyond.
King’s visit took place in the wake of legislative achievements in support of civil rights. The Civil Rights Act in 1964, the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and the Fair Housing Act in 1968 collectively dismantled the structures of segregation that long buttressed white supremacy through subjugating Black people as a racial caste. In criticizing America’s long war in Vietnam as immoral, King’s address reflected an expanded vision of justice as a human right—one that connected all people of the world into “an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
Four weeks later, at age 39, King was assassinated in Memphis a day before leading a march for striking sanitation workers.
In many ways, the Orange County of 2022 does not look like the county that King visited. As an example of turning swords into plowshares, the Irvine Great Park was established on land formerly occupied by the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Base. A major transit point for military personnel deployed to Vietnam, Congress decommissioned the El Toro Base in 1993 and closed the base in 1999 following the end of the Cold War.
The Orange County population has soared to 3 million while reflecting the diversity of the state. A majority minority county, its public 4-year universities and 2-year communities’ colleges are federally designated Hispanic Serving Institutions as well as Asian American Native American Pacific Island Serving Institutions. City calendars observe a range of cultural and faith traditions. A growing number of officeholders for federal, state and local government include firsts for many communities.
Residential communities and shopping centers have replaced the farmlands that once fed the state and country. From tech to real estate, billionaires and millionaires call the county home. Fortune 500 companies are headquartered here and global brands associate with the mystique of the Orange Coast.
For all these changes, we are still far from the “inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny” that King envisioned. Too many people have been left behind. Hate is entrenched in some areas.
The size of the unhoused population has increased, accelerated by the lack of affordable housing. They do not look like the entitled and pampered residents who are featured on the scripted cable programs. They include abused women, exploited children, seniors, single mothers, veterans, working parents, the unemployed and under-employed and undocumented people.
Hate continues to shadow the diverse communities that comprise the county. The county’s annual report documents change and continuity in intimidation and assaults on Jewish and Muslim people and houses of worship as well as dramatic spikes for Asian/Pacific Islanders during the pandemic. What is particularly striking is the persistence of anti-Black hate crimes. Although Black people account for 2% of the general population in Orange County we have nearly always been targeted more often and/or disproportionately victimized. In 2019, the Black community were victims of 53% of all recorded hate crimes.
These contradictions in the county cannot be an occasion to look away or lose hope. On the contrary, King never gave up hope, even in what appeared to be hopeless situations. A powerful vision of justice drove King to press through every test and trail to realize an American Dream where all are equal not in spite of but because of our diversity.
As we observe the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this year, let us commit ourselves to building a just society dedicated to economic and social justice and free of hate.
Douglas M, Haynes leads the Black Thriving Initiative as vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion at UC Irvine. Ralph E. Williamson is the senior minister and pastor of Christ Our Redeemer Church in Irvine.
