(CNN) Four of the 11 Ann Arbor, Michigan, City Council members were inspired by NFL players and took a knee during the Pledge of Allegiance in a council meeting, to protest inequality.

Sumi Kailasapathy, a third-term council member, came to the idea after following the NFL protests , in which players have taken a knee during the National Anthem to protest social injustice throughout the nation.

To the councilwoman this is a subject that hits close to home; she came to this country as a refugee after losing her home during the Sri Lankan civil war, which took place from 1983 to 2009.

"People tell me to go back to my country and I don't know how to tell them that this is my country, this is my home, and I work very hard to take care of and support my community. If I leave, where am I going to go? " Kailasapathy said.

When she moved to the United States, she continued her education and became a professor at Eastern Michigan University. She now works as a public accountant and gives back to her community as much as she can. Regardless of her achievements and contributions to her community, she still experiences discrimination.

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