Via NBC 15

By Juliana Tornabene and Brittney Ermon

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Community members took to the streets downtown Monday night, following a special session called by Gov. Tony Evers to pass a package of bills on policing policies that ended with no action.

Urban Triage and members of the community gathered at the Capitol around 6:00 p.m. to demand lawmakers invest in the Black community to make it safer and healthier.

State Rep. LaKeshia Myers (D-Milwaukee) who is the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus said that they believe in equity across the board for all people. “When the Black community hurts, all of Wisconsin hurts,” Myers said.

Ahead of today’s session, Black lawmakers and activists met on the steps of the Capitol to push for legislation addressing policing and gun violence. Sen. Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has said he would consider other proposals for reform, besides the ones backed by the governor.

Founder and CEO of Urban Triage Brandi Grayson, called on lawmakers around 7:20 p.m. to invest in public health, violence prevention and intervention strategies in Black communities.

A few hundred people continued to protest around 10 p.m. on Washington Avenue. “We asked the people in this building to stand in the space for Black lives, to invest in Black communities- and they refused to do that, sending the signal to Black people that we are not worth it.,” Grayson said.

Protesters said this is a community effort and they plan to make their voices heard until something changes at a state and local level.