The Antelope Valley (AV) is the most northern part of LA County, separated from the rest of the County by over 30 miles of high desert. The first peoples in the region include the Kawaiisu, Kitanemuk, Serrano, and Tataviam, and is now home to nearly half a million residents, with large African American and Latinx populations. The two major cities are Lancaster and Palmdale, but the AV is home to several unincorporated communities as well.
It’s also been home to a variety of cultures, plants, and animals for 11,000 years, and got its name from the history of pronghorns grazing in large numbers for much of its history. From Judy Garland to Paul George, the AV California Poppy Reserve to the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra, these are few of the many jewels that have come from and can be found here.
Despite the beauty of our community, because it is separated from the rest of the county by over 30 miles, the AV has historically been isolated from social movements and even basic social services available to the rest of the county.
Lancaster is the home to the only state prison in Los Angeles County, as well as 3 of the County’s 7 jails.
Why are we cancelling the sheriff’s contract in Antelope Valley?
Robert Fuller, Terron Boone, and Michael Thomas aren’t just names; they were family. Robert was the youngest of 5 siblings and split his time in between Antelope Valley and where his sisters lived in Arizona. He loved anime and looked sharp in a suit.
Terron was Robert’s half-brother and they always got along. They’d see each other at family events and would hang out. Terron was a father of a 7 year old little girl. His family described him as, “a good man and devoted father.” Michael Thomas was a 61 year old unarmed and disabled Black man, beloved father and community member, shot and killed in his own home on June 12, 2020 by an LASD deputy. Despite repeated and ongoing requests to LASD, city officials, and L.A. County, it has been over 37 weeks and the family has no answers, not even the bare minimum of receiving a police report.
Antelope Valley continues to grieve and mourn the loss of Robert Fuller, Terron Boone, Michael Thomas, and too many others before them. Their lives were cut short due to police brutality, body cameras mysteriously turned off, and allegations of white supremacist violence. Los Angeles Sheriff Deputies haven’t been cleared as suspects to their murders.
When they’ve spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in overtime, and liability, it’s not clear why the force and might of the LA Sheriff’s Department haven’t devoted the full force and might to finding their murderers. We can honor the lives of Robert, Terron, and Michael while liberating Antelope Valley from the clutches of corrupt law enforcement.
Together we can Cancel the Contract and create viable alternatives for our communities and generations to come. Come join our collective call to invest in local, community-driven approaches to public safety, mental health, housing, and employment opportunities that will contribute to the reduction of the criminalization of our people.
