Black Lives Matter protesters march from Chavez Plaza to Sacramento police station
Black Lives Matter protesters marched through downtown Sacramento on the same day that a group of conservative demonstrators appeared at the state Capitol.
A group of about 75 marchers met around 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Cesar E. Chavez Plaza — a favorite stomping ground for protesters in the weeks following the Memorial Day police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Organizers with Black Lives Matter had a broad agenda for the evening’s demonstration. Police brutality took the forefront, as protesters marched from the downtown park to the nearby Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office at Seventh and G streets before heading to the Sacramento Police Department’s central command station on Richards Boulevard.
The group walked west on Richards Boulevard to a police substation, where some protesters burned an American flag.
Protesters chanted the names of Black men who have been killed by police officers in the city, but another point of contention was the so-called “strong mayor” push. Writing on social media, organizers said that the “mayor wants more power to oppress,” an unmistakable allusion to the proposed ballot measure that would consolidate considerable authority within Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s office.
Although Black Lives Matter leadership previously argued that a change in Sacramento’s charter was necessary to strip power from City Manager Howard Chan, who was appointed, not elected, the new “strong mayor” proposal that has been championed by Steinberg would leave the sole power to fire city employees, including police officers, with Chan. Sacramento City Council will be voting on the measure Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, a demonstration dubbed the Rescue America Rally was held on the north lawn of the Capitol, in part to show support for law enforcement, beleaguered after months of pointed criticism both in California and across the nation, and partly to demand broader reopenings in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Bee’s Daniel Hunt contributed to this report.
