More than 100 community groups came together to talk about racial justice in Nashville.
Saturday’s event was the first of two announced by Mayor Megan Barry this week..
The meeting at Pearl Cohn High School was centered around starting dialogue about issues of criminal justice in the African American community.
“Today is the beginning of a dialogue, and so the intention today is not to walk out of here with an action plan but to continue this conversation throughout Nashville," Mayor Barry said. "So in September, we're going to gather over a thousand people together to continue this conversation at the Music City Center."
Members of the Black Lives Matter group protested outside the community meeting hosted by Mayor Barry.
The protestors said they felt it was important to come out and help start an honest conversation on race.
They added they feel data shows officers target minorities and that won't change unless the city starts investing less in the police department and more in communities.
“We have little confidence what is going on in there is going to produce any fruitful transformation on the lives of black and brown folks who are negatively impacted,” said Joshua Crutchfield.
The similar meeting Mayor Barry has planned to hold in a couple months will be on September 10.
