‘I can see the despair in folks’ eyes.’ How Sacramento saw protests over George Floyd death
Sacramento residents documented the protests Friday night and Saturday widely on social media, sharing images from the street protests and commentary about police, the treatment of black people in the city and elsewhere, and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Keiona Williamson, who returned to Sacramento from New York in January for what was supposed to be a two-week visit, posted an essay on Medium documenting the protests last night in Oak Park and reflecting on the changing city, writing:
“Older black women are on their lawns giving us, the protestors, nods of approval and cool half-smiles indicating to us to keep going and it’s what we need to know that we are doing the right thing,” Williamson, who is 26, wrote. She noted that it was the first time out of her house in a major way after three months of social distancing.
“Everyone, for as far as I can see is masked and trying to keep their distance but as we become increasingly filled with the weight of the circumstance that brought us all here, the circles began to tighten. I can see the despair in folks’ eyes. It has been a long couple of months for the working class in this country.”
Williamson concluded: “I’m proud of my city, not because of the peaceful way in which we organized but because we went out there and we forced the powers that be to see us. If only for a few intense hours, they saw us.”
Elsewhere throughout the night and Saturday, Sacramento residents and others shared their photos and impressions from the day.
This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 4:09 PM.