Mississippians protest the Trump administration's policies, including the “big, beautiful bill”

The protest comes just days after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a new legislative budget. The package, called the “One, Big Beautiful Bill Act,”  could potentially result in new work requirements for programs like Medicaid and other initiatives, alongside major tax cuts.

Janice Skiffer, who is from Mendenhall in Simpson County, says she’s concerned with how the legislation may impact the state. 

“The budget that was passed by the U.S. Congress, that concerns me because I know that Mississippi is a very poor state and I know how it will impact recipients of SNAP, recipients of Medicaid and Medicare,” she said.

Leigh Miller from Vicksburg, a Democrat who is attending her second protest this year, says she hopes to see more action come from the legislative arm of her party.

“I understand that their feet and their hands are tied,” she said. “They have very few tools to use, but I would like to see more. Being even more vocal or more active.”

Miller also is concerned about the potential impacts of the recently passed legislative package. 

“Mississippi is the poorest state in the nation,” she said. “Mississippi heavily depends on Medicare and Medicaid. Mississippi heavily depends on the programs for children in the schools, the feeding programs, Head Start, all of that. It actually helps children. I don't understand why they don't care.”

Miller says she chose to attend the protest because she believes identifying as a Democrat in Mississippi can feel isolating. 

“If anything, it just makes me want to participate more, to stand up more, and do more, just to be counted,” she said. “Because here in Mississippi, you can't talk to your fellow Mississippians because they don't want to hear it. They block you out. But if we can be counted nationally as, hey, there's stuff going on down there, actually. There are some people who are looking and seeing the truth, even if they're little blue dots in a big red sea.”

Protester Adrienne Tin from Jackson says she wanted to speak out against several policies supported by the Trump administration.

“I think a lot of these executive orders,” she said. “They are illegal and they hurt people. So I just want to make my point here and in solidarity with other people.”

Tin says her family has been personally impacted by recent changes.

“Actually my daughter got terminated,” she said. “Although, because of the judge's order, she got reinstated. But she’s on administrative leave, so she cannot do anything. It's not a good use of federal resources.”

Mississippian’s involvement with the electoral process was another major theme of the day. Karanja Matory is a policy and research analyst at Mississippi Votes. 

“Who we vote for and the way we vote and the number of people that get out to vote impacts legislation, laws that get put into place, and the people that represent us,” he said. 

Matory says he wants to see issues like early voting, which is not allowed in Mississippi, become something that is addressed by legislative leaders moving forward. 

“It would make it easier for everyday people to want to come out and vote,” he said. “If you have early voting, you don't restrict it to just one day to overwhelm people. Give them a grace period to vote.”

Jacobi Grant, a Jackson State University political science professor who spoke at the protest, says he hopes those organizing the rally will reach out to other groups to become involved. 

“One of the reasons many minority views in the state of Mississippi are not majority views is because younger generations of American citizens don't regularly participate in elections,” he said.

Grant says he believes people at the protests, which have been heavily made up of older participants, have a duty to help younger generations understand civic engagement and voting.

“It should be more targeted toward young people because those are the individuals who primarily carry the same sentiments and social beliefs and affiliations,” he said. “There were a couple of speakers who spoke to the lack of democratic competition in the state of Mississippi. That highlights my point of the political factions not strategizing properly to gain a majority. We live in america. Anything is possible, especially when it comes to elections. The important part is what strategy do you have?”

The next Jackson protest is scheduled for June 14. This date was chosen to coincide with other protests occurring throughout the country in order to counter President Trump’s planned military parade in Washington. It’s being organized through a grassroots coalition being organized under the 50501 movement, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement.