At 5:30pm on Tuesday, thousands of Prop 8 protesters rallied in front of San Francisco City Hall. Then they marched past the Supreme Court, down Market Street, and into Yerba Buena Park.
In the park, they staged another rally, albiet to a lower scale. The light was poor and there wasn’t as much emotion in the protesters, so at this point, most of the media left.
I was waiting around in the crowd when I heard some screaming and saw two police officers carrying away a protester, so I immediately ran over and grabbed photos of the arrest.
The crowd in the park followed and encircled the officers, chanting “Let her go!” As the officers disappeared through a police line, a scuffle broke out and a second protester was taken down. The police moved their line down the street in attempt to contain the now outraged crowd, but they left an opening at a crosswalk. Noticing the opening, protesters poured into the street and headed out on a second, completely impromptu march.
The marchers headed back down Market Street towards the Castro District, snaking through different side streets to further throw off the police.
By the time they reached the intersection of Castro and Market, they had effectively lost most of the police, and so they staged a sit-in at the intersection now famous for Harvey Milk’s gay rights movements.
After a little while, everyone stood up and began marching all the way back to Union Square. However, a few blocks later, a truck blasting music and heading in the opposite direction turned the march around. The marchers ended back at the intersection of Market and Castro, and proceeded to take over the streets in the form of a massive dance party.
Crazy.
More photos of the Prop 8 march, arrests, and rallies here.
I was in San Francisco this morning as Proposition 8 was upheld by the California Supreme Court 6–1.
The crowd in front of the Supreme Court was lively just before 10 am, demonstrating their support and desire for marriage equality.
Once 10 am hit, there was no general announcement from the court: just a slow trickle of the news through the crowd, after which people shouted out in anger and sadness.
The Prop 8 protesters then marched around San Francisco’s City Hall and formed a circle in the intersection of Grove and Van Ness, blocking traffic from all directions.
After about an hour and a half, San Francisco police began arresting those still practicing civil disobedience.
View more photos from the Prop 8 decision, rally, and subsequent arrests here.
Another rally starts up at 5:30. I’ll update with more photos after.
I had the chance to photograph San Gabriel-based Cuban American author Cecilia Samartin for her book publisher on Friday.
Cecilia was born in Havana in 1961 in during the middle of the Cuban revolution, though her parents escaped to the United States, allowing her to grow up in Los Angeles. Many of her fictional works, including Broken Paradise, recount struggles brought about by the Cuban revolution. Read more about Cecilia at her website or buy one of her novels from Amazon.
Here are some of my favorites from the shoot:
The USC Trojans haven’t exactly had the best season. Coming into the Pac-10 playoffs seeded 6th and with a 9-9 record, the Trojans were hardly considered for a berth in the NCAA playoffs. That is, until last night, when the Trojans upset the Bruins, the defending Pac-10 champions in the semifinals of the Pac-10 Tournament.
The Trojans defied all stats and odds by never letting up their lead and holding the powerhouse Bruins to 27% from the field. Here are some photos from the game:
DeMar DeRozan with a massive dunk in the first half.
Alfred Aboya celebrates a three-pointer in the first half
Jrue Holiday, Taj Gibson, Nikola Dragovic fight for a rebound in the second half.
Darren Collison commits an offensive foul on Marcus Simmons in the second half.
Marcus Simmons, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Dragovic fight for a rebound in the second half.
Dwight Lewis and DeMar DeRozan celebrate DeRozan’s dunk in the second half.
Taj Gibson celebrates a three-pointer in the second half.
The UCLA bench sits dejected during a free throw late in the second half.
The Trojans face the Arizona State Sun Devils this afternoon in the Pac-10 Championships.
See more photos from the USC–UCLA game.
See the photos from the Washington–Arizona State game.
UPDATE: Defying all odds, the USC Trojans managed to rally back from a nearly-all-game deficit to defeat Arizona State and win the Pac-10 Championship. See photos from the championship game here.
