Watching Sacramento rally around Clemon Charles has really moved me.
Clemon has spent years quietly supporting artists, musicians, poets, and creative weirdos of every kind through Expressions and so many other community spaces throughout Sacramento. A lot of people may not know him personally, but almost everybody in Sacramento knows somebody whose life he encouraged, helped, welcomed, promoted, or believed in when they were just starting out.
After his devastating stroke last week, I’ve been seeing an outpouring of love from every direction - artists sharing memories, musicians stepping up, people checking in on his family, and people donating thousands of dollars through GoFundMe to help support Clemon and his family. It's a reminder that Sacramento is still a real community underneath all the city-living crap we complain about.
There’s something beautiful about seeing kindness come full circle like this. A guy who spent years helping hold up the local arts scene is now being held up by the very community he helped create.
It brings tears to my eyes and makes me so incredibly proud of this city.