Protesters kneel for George Floyd

JACKSON, Tenn.– West Tennesseans gather for another peaceful protest in downtown Jackson.

“You can just think, he’s laying down there, and someone putting that pressure on your neck for nine long minutes. You can’t even stand on your knee for nine minutes,” District 2 city councilman Johnny Dodd said.

It took nearly nine minutes for George Floyd’s consciousness to slip away.

“When I was kneeling on this brick, I was thinking to myself, how would it feel for me to have a knee on my neck not being able to breathe?” protester Andrew Ward said. “I just knelt on the ground, I didn’t kneel on a man.”

The group gathered in front of Jackson City Hall for another peaceful protest honoring Floyd’s life, taking those nine minutes seriously by kneeling for that length of time.

Protesters also offered prayers, and discussed injustice and the need for change.

“We’ve been protesting all across the country, but I think now it’s time for a change. It’s time for us to start planning, start mobilizing, and let’s talk about what the change is, and what the change is going to be,” Dodd said.

One protester looks back on past deaths of African Americans in police custody.

“People were upset then, and we continue to be upset. To see everyone gathering together for one man says a lot,” Ward said.

City officials, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, pastors and community members all came together for the protest.

“I’m just hoping that, as people, we come together. Not only black people, but people of all races standing together for a cause,” Dodd said.

The protest was organized by Jackson city councilman Johnny Dodd.