PALMDALE — Dozens of residents and community leaders gathered in Palmdale Thursday morning for a rally promoting peace and unity.
The Antelope Valley Unity March kicks off around 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, in front of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station on the 700 block of East Avenue Q.
Marchers chanted, “What do we want? Justice!” as they made their way to Palmdale City Hall on Sierra Highway, where the event culminated in a rally.
Some of the rally’s speakers referenced Leroy Browning, the suspected DUI motorist killed by deputies Dec. 20, 2015 outside a Palmdale fast-food restaurant. [Read more on that incident here.]
However, organizers stressed that the fatal deputy-involved shooting did not trigger the march and rally.
“The tragedy on December 20 brought the leadership together to reestablish a network of concerned citizens and leaders to address issues affecting African-Americans and all other communities here in the Antelope Valley. However, the incident is not the focus of the march and rally,” organizer Nigel Holly stated in a news release.
The purpose of the event was to “bring forth awareness and begin contesting the violence plaguing our communities regardless of who is perpetrating the violence against us,” according to Holly.
Previous related stories:
Activist group issues statement on fatal deputy-involved shooting
Man killed in deputy-involved shooting in Palmdale
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2liter says
Glad to see a peaceful interaction from the community, regardless of Color. This is what this country needs right now..Unity. Of course there is trash in every Race, but the majority of Us all want the same thing, Peace and prosperity? As far as Cops go, there is trash among them as well, but the majority are not? I was blessed last week from a Deputy here in Lancaster who went above and beyond to help me out of a situation, who then called his partner, who was equally understanding in my situation? I won’t name drop, but they know who they are? After that incident, I will never look at Law Enforcement the same way…so, We as a community need to band together and help each other as much as possible to create a growing, thriving community that embraces all, and stop pointing fingers. My mom always told me that for every finger you point at someone else, there is 4 pointing back at you?