Hunter
04/08/21
A now fully-staffed Iowa City Truth and Reconciliation Commission are set to meet with the city council next week.
The commission had been suspended after a contentious few months. Their last meeting ended with chair Royceann Porter, Vice-Chair T’Shailyn Harrington, commissioners Anthony Curran and, eventually, commissioner Raneem Hamad resigning.
This week, the Council unanimously selected Wangui Gathua, David Borger Germann, Chastity Dillard and Clinton Johnson to join the commission out of field of 27 applicants.
Hamad was the lone commission member representing the Iowa Freedom Riders before she stepped down. In her resignation letter, she accused the city council of ignoring truths that they don’t want to hear.
The City Council will hold a joint meeting with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on April 15th. That same night, the Freedom Riders announced they will be meeting to formulate a process and mandate for a “Peoples TRC” independent of the city.
