A Culture and History Displaced
and Almost Forgotten
Tanya Spears Guiliacci was the first Black Santa Barbara native I ever met, five years into living in this city.
We met through my job at the Independent, the only two Black people working in our office. This experience of isolation in Santa Barbara is something I, and many other Black folks, have long been accustomed to.
Being Black in Santa Barbara, it is not uncommon to find oneself as the “only” in the room. When we Black Santa Barbarans do see each other around town, we throw a wave or a smile, compliment each other’s hair, and maybe even swap numbers and promise to connect, but community — a real sense of Black community — is difficult to find here…