The City of Cedar Rapids is prioritizing the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd's death. | Pixabay
The City of Cedar Rapids is prioritizing the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd's death. | Pixabay
The Cedar Rapids City Council has unanimously agreed to prioritize the Black Lives Matter movement amid the national civil unrest, according to the city's website.
The decision came during a special meeting on June 19 as council members spoke on the movement that has come to the forefront after the police-involved deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville.
The city put forth seven initiatives as it denounced systemic racism and the importance of acting with urgency. The priorities are, according to its website, to “form an independent citizens’ review board, make significant investments in diversity, equity, and inclusion, ban chokeholds and knee to neck maneuvers and strengthen the use of force standards, decriminalize minor marijuana crimes and other low-level offenses; impose strict body camera provisions, make negotiations between law enforcement and municipal representatives public; and abolish qualified immunity.”
The complete video of the meeting was shared on the council’s official Facebook page.
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