Helen Marie Shipp - City of Santa Ana

(born on April 1, 1935—died January 25, 2018) Helen Marie Shipp, Georgia-born Santa Ana resident, is known for her spirited determination, her role as president and co-founder of the Orange County Black Historical Commission and most notably for founding the Orange County's Black History Parade and Cultural Faire, known today as the Orange County Black History Parade and Unity Festival. Helen worked hard to promote, celebrate, and bring together the black community of Orange County. "I simply enjoy doing things that keep the black community recognized. We're just a part of this community as anyone else. So, why shouldn't we have the right to be seen as well?" (OC Register 1987).

From a young age, Helen would spend most of her time helping her mother with her volunteer work, demonstrating a sense of selflessness and benevolence towards others that would later benefit her life and her future mission. In 1946, Helen at the age of eleven moved from Detroit to Wayne, Michigan. There the neighbors were mixed, and everyone got along with each other. Even in Miami, Florida it wasn’t too bad, the worst thing is there were some places at one time, in [1952], you could not go eat. But then by 1955, you were able to do those things. But there was this thing – you couldn’t drink the water, the water fountain thing. “Colored over here,” would be the sign, and “whites over here” – that would be the sign. Helen lived in Miami until moving with her husband [they married in 1954] to Santa Ana in 1965, to what she called a “segregated Santa Ana.” Like many African Americans across the country, Helen would experience discrimination due to the color of her skin, but she would find solace within her community and churches around her area.

Helen founded the Orange County Black History Parade. The first parade was held in downtown Santa Ana on February 9, 1980. The next year the parade was held in the heart of Santa Ana’s black community and passed by many of the homes of black residents. The route's trajectory started in south Sullivan near Willits and circled around the northern part of the Jerome Center. That year’s event included a fair. Helen would face an uphill battle to get to this point, “In Miami, every December we'd have The Classics, which included an all-black parade, football game and dance," said Shipp. "So, I asked if there had been a black-history parade in Orange County and was told there had been one years before but that I shouldn't bother with organizing another one." (OC Register 1987).

This statement inspired Helen to take up the challenge of organizing the first commission. “People thought I was crazy for going through with it; because all of the streets downtown were blocked off for only eight participants.” (OC Register 1987). Helen did not allow these setbacks to deter her.

While the first parade had a small turnout, the experience allowed her to evaluate and make improvements for future parades. In the months following the first Orange County Black History Parade, Helen reached out to the local churches, business leaders, and community activists to organize future parades. Helen continued to expand the Black History Parade and from 1980 to 1985, the parade expanded in the residential streets in the Jerome-Corbin neighborhood (now Bella Vista neighborhood). In 1986, the parade changed back to its original route down Main Street. The change in route increased both the number of entries to twenty-five with over twenty-thousand spectators.

Mrs. Shipp’s motto – “Honoring Our Heritage, Praising Our Present, Fortifying Our Future.”

Helen continued to participate in the parade until her passing on January 25, 2018. She was buried at the National Cemetery in Riverside, California. Mrs. Shipp was survived by her husband Felton Shipp, Sr. of 63 years at the time of her death and their ten children, the grandchildren, and the great-grandchildren. Helen’s legacy lives on with the next generation as her children and grandchildren continue her mission to organize the Orange County's Black History Parade and Unity Festival, with 2023 being its 43rd year, (30 years in Santa Ana, 1 year in Yorba Linda, and 12 years in Anaheim) not only in memory of their mother, but to preserve her mission of honoring their culture and helping to celebrate it with the Orange County community. Helen once said of the known, as well as the unknown, points of light in the black experience, "You look around and see the people you've touched touching others, and you realize it's a continuum that won't ever end." (OC Register, 2019).

A humanitarian at heart with a tenacious spirit, there is nothing Helen would not have done for her community. She believed in knowing our history, remembering the people of our past who helped shape our future. “It's important to know about history, because history goes on," said Helen. "I don't care what nationality you are - you need to know your own history and what we all have contributed in order to make America what it is." (OC Register 2009). We shall not forget this outstanding, kind, and determined woman who believed in her goals and saw things through even when faced with doubt and adversity, often telling others, "Nothing beats a failure but a try." (OC Register 1987)Shipp, Dwayne. Helen Shipp, photograph. Family Photos. March 15, 2023.

Reference Works

Batchelor, Marilyn A., Helen Shipp: Group Leader puts Black.” The OC Register. August 26, 1987, sec. Local.

Bharath, Deepa. “Parade Celebrates Black Heritage.” The OC Register. February 3, 2013, sec. Local.

Johnson Robert A and Charlene Riggins. 2009. A Different Shade of Orange : Voices of Orange County California Black Pioneers. 1st ed. Fullerton: California State University.

Robinson, Alicia. “The 82-Year-Old Shipp, Who Founded the Parade in 1980, Died an. 25.” The Orange County Register. February 4, 2018, sec. Celebration.