Jackson MS protesters ask: Should our police be black or white? And does it matter?

Dhahran Hall made a flyer and a Facebook post, then waited.

The 29-year-old Jackson Public Schools teacher organized a protest outside the Mississippi Capitol Monday at noon, but only a few people were there. Reporters and TV crews initially outnumbered the protesters.

Hall wanted justice for George Floyd, a black man who died on Memorial Day in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes. The police officer has been fired and charged with third-degree murder. Floyd's death has ignited a firestorm of massive protests across the nation.

But in the city of Jackson, which Mayor Chokwe Lumumba once pledged to make the "most radical city on the planet," demonstrations have been relatively small.

There was a protest Friday at the Capitol with about 20 people. On Sunday, more than 100 people gathered at the Jackson Police Department for a peaceful demonstration.

Story continues below the photo gallery.

Meanwhile, about 300 people marched in Oxford Saturday night, and at least 200 people protested on Saturday and Sunday in Petal, where the mayor came under fire for social media posts. Both cities are largely white, and both have significantly smaller populations than Jackson.

Monday's turnout in Jackson didn't deter Hall, who spoke at length to the reporters and photographers. The only police presence was a Capitol Police Officer who watched the gathering from the steps of the Capitol.

When asked why more people hadn't turned out, Hall said Jackson doesn't have the problems of other major cities, noting it has a mostly black police force. 

"Our struggle here is different than in other cities," Hall said, which leads to a sense of complacency.

That caught the attention of Adofo Minka, a 33-year-old attorney in Jackson. As Hall had been talking, Minka and several others came to join the protest.

Minka brought up a fatal police shooting in mid-April, when Jackson police shot a man who allegedly tried to attack an officer with a screwdriver. Police brutality is an institutional problem, Minka said, and no amount of black police officers will automatically fix that.

"The black police are no better than the white police," Minka said. 

JPD:Man refused to drop screwdriver before officer shot him

Minka and Hall continued to talk. More people arrived. Some started to film the conversation, which branched into race, class and local government — and how they intersect in Jackson. 

"Let me ask you this, Would you rather be policed by all-white police force or all-black police force?" Hall asked.

"I would rather be policed by nobody," Minka replied.

Hall said he agreed with Minka that there were problems with the Jackson Police Department, but said Minka wasn't being realistic. 

"We got black police officers," Hall said. "Are they perfect? No. Are they great? No. But I would rather deal with JPD than deal with Rankin County who is the real problem. The people out in Madison, we know, is the real problem."

"They do the same thing," Minka said.

"The people here in Jackson, we're not going to stand for police brutality nowhere," Hall said.

"They already stand for it," Minka said. 

The pair spoke for about 30 minutes, with other members of the group occasionally joining in. By the time their conversation wrapped up, the crowd had swelled to about 50, some holding signs decrying police brutality. Hall decided it was time to march to the Jackson Police Department.

"No justice," he shouted.

"No peace," the crowd responded and followed behind him.

Gov. Tate Reeves discuss Floyd's death

During his Monday afternoon press conference, Gov. Tate Reeves directly addressed death of Floyd, saying he was "disgusted and dismayed" by video of his arrest.

"I pray that justice will be done," Reeves said.

The governor reaffirmed that he would support Mississippian's First Amendment right to protest, but warned against any "anarchists and antagonists from other parts of the country who seem committed to violence.”

He said the state is prepared to defend against anarchists, described as “usually spoiled kids who are privileged enough not to know consequences,” who come to Mississippi to incite violence.

Addressing the so-called "anarchists," Reeves said, “I am not threatening, I am promising the full force of our state will be ready and willing to defend our communities. They will not stand back, they will lean in and you will not like the results.”

Alissa Zhu contributed to this report.

Contact Giacomo "Jack" Bologna at 601-961-7282 or gbologna@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @gbolognaCL.