A huge crowd of people marched through downtown Nashville peacefully protesting the recent shooting deaths of two black men by police officers.
The group of about 500 people conducted the Justice March for three hours Saturday afternoon into the evening hours.
"We're protesting, we're marching on behalf of the black men killed in the hands of police officers that were meant to protect us," one protester said.
Police officers escorted the crowd through the streets as they spread their message. The officials blocked parts of West End as the protesters moved through heading down Church Street and back to Centennial Park.
At major intersections, the group gathered in a circle to pray and chant.
They held signs saying black lives matter as they marched and prayed for peace.
"It takes one person at a time, and it takes white people to become accustomed to discomfort and giving up and withholding the privileges that we were granted the entire life that we don't deserve," a white protester said while participating in the march.
Not everyone there agreed with the march. One man said, "All they're doing is throwing a temper tantrum and you don't fix anything by complaining... There is a problem, this doesn't fix it."
Many had photos of loved ones they said have been lost to violence. Others pleaded their message was not against all police officers, just those they said have spread a message of hate.
#JusticeMarch has ended after 3 hours. Organizers asking people to say "I love you" to each other. @NC5 pic.twitter.com/6KVT3slg0Z
— Matthew Torres (@NC5_MTorres) July 9, 2016
At the end of the march, organizers asked people to say, “I love you” to each other.
