Six Days in Sacramento
This spring, hundreds of people took to the streets to protest the fatal shooting of Stephon Clark by police on March 18. Though the rallies were largely peaceful, emotions flooded churches, freeways and City Hall as Sacramento became the latest American community to struggle with a high-profile death of a young, unarmed black man. For six of the days that immediately followed the incident, photojournalist Max Whittaker chronicled the clashes and conversations that unfolded.
March 27: Protesters take over the lobby of Sacramento City Hall during a city council meeting.
March 27: From left, Sacramento City Councilman Steve Hansen, City Clerk Mindy Cuppy and Mayor Darrell Steinberg look on as Stevante Clark interrupts a city council meeting and leads the crowd in chanting his brother Stephon Clark’s name.
March 27: From left, Rev. Eric Donaldson, activist Rashid Sidqe, Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn and community organizer Ryan McClinton join in prayer during a city council meeting at City Hall.
March 27: Protesters block entry to the Golden 1 Center before a Sacramento Kings game. Only about 4,000 people were admitted inside before officials shut the doors for safety, and the team played in front of a mostly empty arena.
March 28: Demonstrators convene outside the Robert T. Matsui Courthouse to demand the prosecution of the two officers who shot Stephon Clark.
March 28: A driver is surrounded by protesters as he tries to make his way through downtown.
March 29: Stevante Clark embraces one of the hundreds of mourners outside Bayside of South Sacramento church, where his brother’s funeral was held.
March 29: Rev. Al Sharpton leaves Stephon Clark’s funeral, where he delivered the eulogy.
March 30: A protester, who joined a five-hour march that began at City Hall and continued to Interstate 5, faces off with a California Highway Patrol officer.
March 30: Demonstrators march down K Street in downtown Sacramento for the fourth consecutive day of protests.
March 31: Stephon Clark’s grandmother Sequita Thompson, who was inside her South Sacramento home when her grandson was shot and killed in her backyard, participates in the Rally for Unity and Action held at Cesar Chavez Plaza.
March 31: Stephon Clark’s fiancée, Salena Manni, holds their son Cairo, 1, at the rally. Former Kings forward Matt Barnes, who organized the gathering, announced that he would create a college scholarship fund for Cairo and older brother Aiden, 3.
March 31: Tears fill the eyes of Faye Wilson Kennedy during a candlelight vigil for Stephon Clark and other victims of police shootings in South Sacramento.
March 31: Phuong Le rushes to help her friend and activist Wanda Cleveland, 61, who was struck by a moving Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department vehicle at the candlelight vigil. Cleveland was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for injuries.
April 4: Andre Young walks through downtown Sacramento carrying a poster that features a portrait of his 22-year-old cousin Stephon Clark by artist Xico González.
April 4: Activist Cheri Miller chants during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in downtown Sacramento on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
April 4: Hundreds of protesters march in downtown Sacramento, holding signs like “Black Lives Matter,” “Wake Up Sacramento” and “Pride Over Prejudice.”
