If you're viewing on the ABC10 App, tap here for multimedia.
National Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza was part of a speaker series Tuesday at Sac State, taking the stage hours after the local chapter staged a large protest in downtown Sacramento.
"What I think about protests is it's what makes this country great," said Garza, addressing the local Black Lives Matter chapter leading protests outside a police convention on the six month anniversary of Stephon Clark's death.
At the event, Garza applauded the local chapter.
"We have a robust, vibrant chapter here in Sacramento that led a lot of actions today," Garza said. "We're incredibly proud. They're the ones who have made it visible that Stephon Clark should be alive right now."
In response to supporters of law enforcement showing up at the protests, Garza feels all lives do matter, but that's not this country's reality.
"Language matters. When you're saying 'All Lives Matter' in response to those saying 'Black Lives Matter', then ultimately what you're saying is 'I dismiss your claim,'" Garza explained. "What we're fighting for is making all lives matter by making sure black lives matter too."
Garza addressed misconceptions that BLM is anti-law enforcement and anti-white.
"Black Lives Matter was not created out of hatred for law enforcement," Garza said. "Black Lives Matter was created to make sure that our communities live with dignity, that our families can stay together," said Garza. "When we cannot do basic things that all people should be able to do freely, we have a problem."
Garza also addressed the recent shooting death of Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Stasyuk.
"It is terrible when anyone loses life," Garza said. "I'd like to build a world where people can grow up to be adults and don't get shot in their backyard, where people don't get killed in the line of duty."
Follow the conversation on Facebook with Frances Wang.
Correction: An earlier version of this story named Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza as Alicia Gonzales. The story has been fixed.