Family, friends and leaders of the black community said an emotional goodbye to Stephon Clark, the unarmed black man killed by Sacramento Police, at his funeral in South Sacramento Thursday.
“This is not a Sacramento fight anymore, this is a national fight," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who spoke at the funeral. "Stephon has woke up the nation.
“We going to make Donald Trump and the whole world deal with the issues of police misconduct," he told the crowd.
Hundreds of people came to Bayside church in South Sacramento to rememeber the 22-year-old Clark. Many were unable to enter and instead waited outside. The service was open to the public.
During the funeral, Stephon Clark’s brother Ste’Vante Clark shook hands with family and friends and gave them kisses. He also danced on the stage, hugged his brother’s coffin and, during a speech by regional NAACP chapter president Alice Huffman, took over the microphone to deliver his own emotional talk.
“We’re going to do coliseums for Stephon, we’re gonna do libraries, we’re gonna do resource centers,” Ste’Vante said. “Stephon is gonna live for generations, to generations to generations.”
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Ste’Vante Clark also interrupted the City Council community forum around the shooting Tuesday. At Thursday’s service he said he’d work with Mayor Darrell Steinberg — who attended the funeral — to bring resources to the Meadowview neighborhood.
“He’s gonna help us get the resource center done,” Ste’Vante said of Steinberg “And if he doesn’t, we’re gonna hold him accountable.”
Other family members shared memories of “Stephon Alonzo Charlie Evan Atheo Clark, affectionately known as "Big Papa',” one relative read from his obituary. Clark’s sister told a story of helping Clark do his homework while attending Sacramento Charter High School.
The family thanked athletes DeMarcus Cousins, Matt Barnes and Marshawn Lynch during the acknowledgements. Cousins and Barnes have been reported as helping pay for the services.
Sharpton gave his eulogy with Ste’Vante Clark standing on stage alongside him.
“Ste'Vante and his family are the reason we’re here,” Sharpton said. “You don’t tell people when you kill their loved one how to grieve.”
With a third day of protests planned this evening in downtown Sacramento, Sharpton also encouraged demonstrators to continue pressing for charges against the two officers who killed Clark.
“They were not violent. They would not shoot at anybody 20 times,” Sharpton said of the protesters. “They didn’t take anybody down. We saw the video. Do the right thing. We will never let you forget the name of Stephon Clark until we get justice.”
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Those outside the church echoed Shaprton's sentiments, calling for charges against the officer who shot Clark.
“You can’t shoot people and just walk," said Dan Green, who was unable to enter for the funeral. "That’s not how life should work. That’s certainly not justice. You can’t have justice for some — that’s injustice, that’s the definition.”
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