Truth & Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) are a well-known but complicated mechanism often deployed by conflict-ridden societies seeking come to terms with entrenched legacies of human rights violations and chart new ways forward. In the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd, many scholars, activists, and politicians proposed TRCs of varying scope, from local to national, as a way of starting productive discussions about police killings, racial discrimination, and claims of entrenched “white supremacy” generally. At the urging of a group of youth activists, the Iowa Freedom Riders, the city of Iowa City responded and established an Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission (IC-TRC) in September 2020. In its first year, however, the Ad Hoc TRC experienced conflicts leading to the resignation and replacement of a majority of its commissioners; the Iowa Freedom Riders denounced it and started their own “Peoples Truth & Reckoning Commission.” The webinar will provide a forum for a range of participants from both TRCs and outside observers to reflect on the hopes and limitations of the TRC process and the experience of the first year of TRCs in Iowa City.
Speakers include:
- Amel Ali, Vice-Chair, Ad Hoc Iowa City Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- Eduardo González, Research fellow, Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation at George Mason University
- Raneem Hamad, Iowa Freedom Riders, Peoples Truth and Reckoning Commission
- Adrien Wing, Associate Dean, International and Comparative Law Programs, Bessie Dutton Murray Professor of Law, UI College of Law, and UICHR Director
- Moderated by Aaron Marr Page, International human rights and U.S. criminal justice attorney, Adjunct Instructor, UI College of Law
Join the webinar at: https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/95325705480
- No need to register in advance
- This event is open to all campus and community members
- A recording of this event will be posted to UICHR's Youtube channel afterwards