(CNN) Four of the 11 Ann Arbor, Michigan, City Council members were inspired by NFL players and took a knee during the Pledge of Allegiance in a council meeting, to protest inequality.
Sumi Kailasapathy, a third-term council member, came to the idea after following the NFL protests, in which players have taken a knee during the National Anthem to protest social injustice throughout the nation.
To the councilwoman this is a subject that hits close to home; she came to this country as a refugee after losing her home during the Sri Lankan civil war, which took place from 1983 to 2009.
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