Members of the Young Gifted and Black Coalition went before the city’s Equal Opportunities Commission Thursday to push for action on racial equality in Madison.

In a presentation to the commission, Brandi Grayson, a member of the Young Gifted and Black Coalition, which organizes weekly Black Lives Matter marches, demanded Dane County Jail release 350 black prisoners. Grayson noted 50 percent of prison inmates are black, despite only composing 6 percent of the general population.

“There are 800 people in jail on any given day,” Grayson said. “If there was no structural racism then there should only be approximately 50 people in jail.”

Grayson also drew attention to the racial disparity in the use of home monitoring rather than jail time. She said 25 percent of black inmates qualify for home monitoring.

Grayson also said the coalition does not support the use of police body cameras. She denounced city officials for not taking responsibility of the problem.

“Transparency does not equal accountability,” she said.

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Jason Glozier from the Disability Rights and Services Program also took the floor to address the need for more accessible cabs for those with disabilities. Union Cab, the only cab service to offer accessible vans, offers just five such vehicles leading to extreme wait times for customers.

Glozier proposed a 25 cent surcharge fee to help fund more accessible vehicles and an ordinance requiring all cab companies to provide accessible vehicles.

The commission and Glozier acknowledged that the current cab situation violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The EOC also heard a proposal by Patrick Elliott and Andrew Seidel from the Freedom from Religion Foundation to change the current city ordinance on protected classes.

Currently the ordinance protects two classes from discrimination, those with disabilities and those with religious beliefs. The two proposed the city either change the wording of the current ordinance to include atheists or to add them as a third protected class.

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Seidel cited a number of instances and statistics in which atheists have been discriminated against.

The EOC decided to defer further action on the matter until the commission’s next meeting because they felt the proposal was a big decision that needed more in depth consideration.

If passed, Madison would become the first city to list atheists as a protected class, Seidel said.