Sun Village is a historic Black town in Los Angeles’ Antelope Valley. It was established during World War II as Black residents of Los Angeles moved to the valley as its aerospace industry boomed. 

Sun Village wasn’t the first example of Black placemaking in the Antelope Valley (see more about the valley’s first Black resident, Charles Graves, here). And it isn’t the only place where Black residents made communities at the margins of Los Angeles (see examples like Valle Verde, Indio, Murray’s Ranch, and more here). But it was an important site of Black community building and political organizing, with a lasting legacy across the valley today.

This digital exhibit is rooted in a quote given by James Brooks to the Los Angeles Times in 2012, “the history of Sun Village is the history of the Antelope Valley and the history of America…[it] should be sung throughout the valley.” In that spirit, this project attempts to showcase the history of Sun Village and its relevance to broader histories of Los Angeles.

Below, you’ll find a timeline of Sun Village history, containing links to pages about people, places, social movements, and other issues of interest that help tell the village’s story and put it into its regional and historical context. Below that you’ll find links to more information about nine key themes related to Sun Village.