Hundreds of people turned out for a protest in Jackson Saturday that by some estimates will likely be one of the largest in state history.

Hundreds of people showed up for a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Jackson on Saturday, and Mississippi Today will provide regular updates throughout the day.

The Black Lives Matter Mississippi protest began at the Governor’s Mansion on Saturday at 3 p.m. The crowd, which would grow into one of the largest protests in the state’s history, began at the mansion before moving a few blocks north to the Mississippi State Capitol. The protesters were scheduled to return back to the mansion.

The protest — like others across the country — comes in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Millions of Americans are protesting police brutality and inequities in the criminal justice system.

The organizers of the Jackson event released a list of demands this week that include removing Confederate symbols and memorabilia, reopening the Ricky Ball case, decreasing the state’s prison population, and centering public health in decisions involving schools returning in the fall because of the coronavirus. The full list can be viewed here.

Mississippi Today will update this post throughout the day. Follow Editor-in-Chief Adam Ganucheau, Deputy Managing Editor Kayleigh Skinner, and photojournalist Eric Shelton, who will be on the ground during the protest.

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Kayleigh Skinner served the Mississippi Today team from January 2017 as an education and legislative reporter and advanced to senior level roles in 2020 to October 2023. Before joining Mississippi Today, Kayleigh worked at The Hechinger Report, Chalkbeat Tennessee, and The Commercial Appeal. She has appeared on MSNBC, NPR, and BBC Newsday Radio to discuss her reporting.

Adam Ganucheau, as Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief, oversees the newsroom and works with the editorial team to fulfill our mission of producing high-quality journalism in the public interest. Adam has covered politics and state government for Mississippi Today since February 2016. A native of Hazlehurst, Adam has worked as a staff reporter for AL.com, The Birmingham News and The Clarion-Ledger and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Adam earned his bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Mississippi.