Jackson Protest: ‘We are tired of black lives being taken by police officers’

Protesters gathered in downtown Jackson Sunday in a peaceful demonstration against police brutality following the recent death of George Floyd who was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

The protest started at the Governor’s Mansion and ended at the Jackson Police Department. 

“We are tired of black lives being taken by police officers and we are just tired of racism, period,” protest organizer Bria Williams said. “We want to know how Mississippi leaders feel about what is going on in America with race.”

Protests have been taking place in cities across America after the video of Floyd in handcuffs and police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee on his neck went viral. Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. 

People from various racial backgrounds and ages took part in Sunday’s protest in Jackson. 

“We want to show the nation that although we have a past that is tainted with racial tension, that today we wanted to make a change and show the world that Mississippi can care about racism in a peaceful way,” Williams said. Here is a collection of images from the demonstration: