FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

4 chinese farmworkers sit around a low outdoor table sharing a meal
Chinese farmworkers in Ventura County. No date. Image courtesy of the Museum of Ventura County
A crowd of people stand to the left of the first train to reach Santa Barbara
A crowd gathered to greet the first train to arrive in Santa Barbara on August 19, 1887. Image courtesy of the Edson Smith Photograph Collection, Santa Barbara Public Library
An African American man uses cinder blocks to build the foundation of his church
Reverend Luther McCurtis building his own church, the Church of God in Christ in March 1965. (660 N. Ventura Avenue, Ventura) Image courtesy of the Museum of Ventura County
7 musicians on horseback stand in a line with various instruments and regalia
Mexican musicians on horseback. No date. Image courtesy of the Edson Smith Photograph Collection, Santa Barbara Public Library
A young African American man and woman dance in front of a crowd of other soldiers
Dance for African American enlisted personnel at Camp Rousseau Seabee Camp at Port Hueneme in September 1943. Image courtesy of NAVFAC Archives, U.S. Navy
4 chinese farmworkers sit around a low outdoor table sharing a meal
Chinese farmworkers in Ventura County. No date. Image courtesy of the Museum of Ventura County
A crowd of people stand to the left of the first train to reach Santa Barbara
A crowd gathered to greet the first train to arrive in Santa Barbara on August 19, 1887. Image courtesy of the Edson Smith Photograph Collection, Santa Barbara Public Library
An African American man uses cinder blocks to build the foundation of his church
Reverend Luther McCurtis building his own church, the Church of God in Christ in March 1965. (660 N. Ventura Avenue, Ventura) Image courtesy of the Museum of Ventura County
7 musicians on horseback stand in a line with various instruments and regalia
Mexican musicians on horseback. No date. Image courtesy of the Edson Smith Photograph Collection, Santa Barbara Public Library
A young African American man and woman dance in front of a crowd of other soldiers
Dance for African American enlisted personnel at Camp Rousseau Seabee Camp at Port Hueneme in September 1943. Image courtesy of NAVFAC Archives, U.S. Navy

The historical photographs featured throughout this site were drawn from the archives of Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties, and were selected with care to reflect the Central Coast as a culturally diverse region shaped by labor, community, and everyday life. These images capture moments of collective gathering, agricultural work, and neighborhood building across the tri-county area, offering a portrait of the working communities that made this region productive and livable long before it became synonymous with wealth and exclusivity. The CCREI is grounded in the belief that understanding where we come from is essential to imagining where we can go. By situating our equity work within this longer history, we hope to remind visitors that the Central Coast has looked different before, and that the conditions shaping housing, wages, and opportunity today are not fixed. These communities built something here. Our work is to honor that, reclaim what has been lost, and build toward something better.

The Central Coast Regional Equity Initiative

The Central Coast Regional Equity Initiative is a collaboration between:

USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)
The Fund for Santa Barbara
The UCSB Blum Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy