Thuy Vo Dang
Dr. Thuy Vo Dang is Curator for the University of California, Irvine Libraries Southeast Asian Archive and Research Librarian for Asian American studies. She has a Ph.D. in ethnic studies from UC San Diego and is co-author of the book, Vietnamese in Orange County. Thuy serves on the board of directors for Arts OC and the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association.
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Cross-burning, vandalism and bomb-throwing attempted to drive the first African Americans from this neighborhood, but, ironically, that racist intimidation alerted other Black homebuyers that this was a space where they could actually purchase homes.
A small house in Fullerton proved an unlikely site in the fight against housing discrimination when white neighbors sued Alex Bernal for buying it.
Along with Bruce's Beach, there was supposed to be the Pacific Beach Club. Black people built a beach club in 1920s Huntington Beach, but it was burned down before it ever opened.
Corporate paternalism and Mexican American resilience are both evident in this model company town for naranjeros.
Behind what used to be Santa Ana City Hall is a parking lot and lofts that was once the location of Orange County's largest Chinatown — until the city council ordered it burned down.
California's smallest land grant and oldest family home, the Rios Adobe, is a rare Orange County space of Native American persistence in the face of widespread dispossession.
Privatization, racism and resistance shape who has access to Orange County's land and wealth.
The Crystal Tower's giant reflective glass tower remains one of the most distinctive buildings in Orange County. For decades, it was home to one of the most important evangelical Christian movements of the Cold War.
Glover Stadium in Anaheim's La Palma Park hosts high school sports events, but in 1961, also became a staging ground for a week-long rally held by the Orange County School of Anti-Communism, spurring Orange County's passionate brand of mid-century conservatism.
Near the Interstate 5 and squeezed in between a Holiday Inn Express and a small shopping plaza stands one of the few Cham Muslim mosques in the United States.
After experiencing displacement from war, Vietnamese Americans demonstrate their resilience in the face of the vastness of the California landscape with services like Xe Do Hoang, a bus service connecting the two largest Vietnamese communities in the U.S.
The military is often perceived as a conservative force, but the military also brought more equitable employment and housing to Orange County.