CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s been 21 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and since then there have been some safety changes across the country.
However, Congresswoman Alma Adams believes it may not be enough especially when it comes to protecting people of color.
"We have to include the Black perspective because our perspective is too often ignored, so we want to keep the conversation around communities that have been left out and left behind," Congresswoman Adams told WCNC Charlotte.
This is just one reason Congresswoman Adams said it was important to host a discussion about what is being done to better safeguard our well-being in places of worship, the workplace and schools.
A big piece of that starts with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
"Provide critical funding to our schools— $500 million for school-based mental health. help schools deal with these problems to train and diversify school counselors," she said.
We’re told an additional $300 million will also be used to help stop school violence and support victims of domestic violence by making it harder for abusers to get guns.
The legislation will apply to grades K-12 and higher education as well.
This becoming a priority, especially in the aftermath of the numerous threats made to historically black colleges and universities nationwide.
As part of today’s discussion, Congresswoman Adams also invited students of all ages to come out and share any of their safety concerns.
As the chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, Adams said she’s doing her part to ensure work environments remain safe too.
"Young children are being exploited and doing farm work so we’re trying to work on a bunch of things not only to protect children, adults, but folks from various classes of work such as the LGBTQ, trans workers, etc," she explained.
Now, on the anniversary of a historic tragedy, the community is looking to make sure an attack on safety doesn’t repeat itself.
Contact Briana Harper at bharper@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Flashpoint is a weekly in-depth look at politics in Charlotte, North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond with host Ben Thompson. Listen to the podcast weekly.
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