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Home My WebLink About11.d TRC Phase 1 Progress Report Presentation Item: 11 .d Ad Hoc Truth & Reconciliation Commission PRESENTATION TO FOLLOW: By: Chastity Dillard, TRC Chair Lauren Merritt, TRC Vice Chair Chad Simmons, TRC Member r 1 r11M®r�� CITY OF IOWA CITY 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1826 (3 19) 356-5000 (319) 356-5009 FAX www.icgov.org Iowa City' s Truth & Reconciliation R C Commission o PROGRESS REPORT November 21, 2023 i n r Commi ss o e sjjj >, 1ti\�h OA ' , Chastity Dillard Lauren Merritt Wangui Gathua Sikowis Nobiss Chair Vice Chair Cliff Johnson Marie Krebs Chad Simmons Louis Tassinary ❑ O Iowa City' s Truth & Reconciliation Commission November 21, 2023 U � V Agenda Review of TRC Charges in Resolution No. 20-228 Phase One Completed Deliverables August: 2-Day Facilitator Training with Think Peace, Kearns and West, and Healing Partners September: Fact-Finding Training with Kearns& West; September:3 Strategic Doing Sessions with Astig Planning, Banjo Knits Empowerment, and Mendoza Consulting October: 2-Day Truth-Telling Training with Think Peace Commissioner's Takeaways Looking Ahead to Phase Two Focus on Truth-telling Event Readiness Ground-truthingand Fact-Finding Healing Circle Trainingswith Native Partners ` Reconciliation Support with Healing Partners Further Recommendations for Phase Two Support Commission's request for debriefing and dialogue - Facilitated Retreat TRC Charges in Resolution No . 20 - 228 Fact-Finding.The TRC shall collect evidence, including first-hand testimony, of discrimination and racial injustice in th multiple settings and compile a complete record of racial injustices that will inform and support the fundamental institutional and policy reforms necessary to address systemic racism. Truth-Telling.The TRC shall: 1) Provide multiple fora and creative opportunities for persons impacted and traumatized by racial injustice to share their stories of racial injustice and experiences to be heard by: (a)fellow communities of color; (b) abroad cross section of the entire Iowa City community;and (c) key decision-makers in city government,the business community and the University;2) Explore ways to provide such opportunities through art, music,theater, workshops,rallies and other forms of congregation,multimedia and listening designed to reveal truths that cannot be fully expressed in traditional fora;and 3) Create a repository for community stories expressed in multiple media (written, video,audio,art)that can be catalogued and used to educate and inform members of the community. Reconciliation.The TRC shall: 1) Provide opportunity for and facilitate direct conversation among and between community members of color,white community members and representatives of various sectors in which people of color experience discrimination and injustice (e.g. police and protesters, landlords and tenants,students and teachers,patients and healthcare providers,business owners and staff);2) Create a replicable model that provides a structure for enabling these conversations throughout the city;3) Made LitVavailable opportunities for a broad cross section of the community to learn about discrimination and racial injustice in our community; 4) Identify and recommend to the City Council institutional and policy reforms,new social practices,expectations,protocols, its, rituals, conversations and celebrations that will move Iowa City toward a shared experience of race and difference,justice and and community and harmony. 1 Phase One Completed Deliverables- August eliverables- August Two-Day Facilitator Training with entire facilitator team! After weeks of careful preparation, the Eu partners and the TRC agreed on an agenda` f _ ti focused on an introductory examination of _ s the key areas in the mandate of the TRC: truth-telling, fact-finding and reconciliation. '_ , 2 Phase One Completed Deliverables Each of the facilitator organizations introduced the basic elements of their work with the commission, linked to the three areas under the mandate. The sessions included reviewing comparative experiences of truth commissions around the world and in the U5. The discussion identified the need to hold the members of the commission in a safe space, since they themselves have been exposed to the harm caused by racial injustice and historical trauma. a Important Fact- Finding Considerations What does Fact-Finding mean to you? What makes something factual? What standards should this TRC use to identify a piece of information as fact? How should we define the facts that need to be found to fulfill your mandate? Az Key Questions for Fact- Finding Topics Sources What do we want to know? Where can we go for information? Depictions Context How should we present the What context should we have data? as we search for the facts and review them? Phase 1 Completed Deliverables- Sept Fact-Finding Training and Planning with Kearns & West F1. 11Y., Lp • Initial survey • 1:1 talks with Kearns & West team • Data brainstorm • Group discussion o Housing; Health gK o Education; Public Safety -- o Economic Development o Environmental Justice o Namings/Remembrance O Phase One Completed Deliverables- 3 Strategic Doing Sessions North Star Framing Question "How can we strategically build capacity and amplify the voices of BIPOC and ethnically-oppressed Peoples in order to express their truths, all while addressing historical oppression, genocide, racism, and the need to de-construct colonial systems, ultimately creating foundations for safer spaces for healing and empowerment?" - Iowa City TRC v u PhaseO Completed 1 , , , , DoingStrategic First Session Thursday, September 14th 5-9pm 23 Attendees, 3 FaciLitators, 2 City Staff Commissioners, • • Cl i �p \\ l �� J� � Yt (�� . - ,.ems✓ /� 3 Pathfinder Projects (* Denotes Commissioner) Create a Financial Literacy & Focused marketing campaign to our Credit Builder Program for BIPOC underestimated community to connect them to Community Members employment opportunities and training through Tracy Jon Sargent, *Louis Tassinary, IowaWorks Amos Kiche, Charlie Eastham Nancy Bird, Corey Johnson, Lauren Merritt, Kate Moreland, *Marie Krebbs Community Experience- Developing a curriculum for a cohort of people in the community to engage the fact-finding information that the TRC uncovers/aggregates, Talking circles to process information, and potentially create a project together (e.g. Community Leadership Program) Monica Nieves, *Chastity Dillard, Tony Branch, Laura Bergus, Annie Tucker, *Cliff Johnson, Mark Pries, Kim Scott, *Wangui Gathua Additional Ideas Faith-Based Curriculum for Anti- racism work African Community Space hosted at ICOR Boxing APP ' f a ■ Survey Responses � ® "Felt I was part of something much bigger LD - than myself! It was exciting to be around _. others who wanted to share resources, assets, time and energy around Truth & Reconciliation within our community" "So far the 3 projects are inclusive but I - suggest all workshop members discuss and vet them . I may have interests on issues in other groups and would even want to benefit from suggestions by participants in other teams." = r: "I am excited. We are moving forward and IL can tweak stuff along the way." Phase One Completed Deliverables- 3 Strategic Doing Sessions Second Session Saturday, September 16th 10am-Noon 11 Attendees, 1 Facilitator, 2 City Staff 3 Commissioners Circle of people- Much more intimate \` Learned about South District Market from Rachel Scott- business owner t ' } Opened by asking for introduction and "What brings you to this work" 1 Phase One Completed Deliverables- 3 Strategic Doing Sessions Third Session- Spanish Session September 20th 5-9pm 11 Attendees, 1 Facilitator Leaders in the Latina/o/x community . Two Pathfinder Projects: Empowering Communities on Their Labor Rights • Address Wage Theft. Labor workshops, Marketing o= ` Campaign, Financial Education, Coalition of Business Owners to Promote Socially Responsible Create Multicultural Community Center • Find and create a physical space for underestimated community membersto create community with each other, have their voices heard, and provide opportunities a to immerse themselves in their cultures and shared ;- values. Host Posadas in December Strategic Doing- Adaptive Process Create a Financial Literacy & Credit Builder Program for BIPOC Community Members • MDCI has hosted two Financial Literacy programs, more to come! Focused marketing campaign to our underestimated community to connect them to employment opportunities and training through Iowa Works (One meeting): • Partnering with South of 6 Business District and other business groups to explore job fairs with IowaWorks. Community Experience Cohort (Two meetings): • Creating framework for reconciliation process: CLP Model- Cohort of 10 people, topical experts (e.g. racism and housing/finance/education) or people in the cohort sharing their knowledge and potentially training in Healing Circles. Create curriculum on topics, facilitated discussions in Circles, and how to address issues. Currently sharing resources. 3 Phase One Completed Deliverables- October Two-Day Facilitator Training by Think Peace with presence by Healing Partners and Native Partners, commissioners, public and City staff and leadership on 25-26 October. Led by Melinda Salazar, we discussed concepts related to trauma and the need to set up the truth-seeking work of the TRC while taking care of the well-being of participants, avoiding the possibility of retraumatization. Lthe , led byDave Ragland PhD, we conducted a alization exercise to help align our subjectivity withtasks assigned to the TRC. Phase One Completed Deliverables October Supported by Eduardo Gonzalez, we �/,IpND RFP. defined public hearings and examined different types of hearings, following the _ � "NEVER A iAf T YOU FREE best practices of TRCs around the world. j � UT YOU iLN We discussed videos of hearing from South Africa, Brazil and Colombia and examined internal documents of the TRC of Peru to visualize the inner workings of public hearings. Phase One Complete Deliverables - October We also envisioned an example of a L°MA DE U M2 OYRMMCLacwx p DRDNDGRAMA DE EJEDUgON DE AUDIENCIAE PUBLICAS 1001-100.1 ProNb Osla Unitlad AP-K potential hearing, discussing the Aa May Jan Jul Ago Set Oct Nov Die Ene Feb Mat Ate May be�*S topics already identified in September ,. 0APP) AYe'a Law ': . '. P E12. 12 y;I," fecNa laae° 21Y22 11Y12 NY25 for Fact-Finding (Education, Housing, " 12 N TEIMTICFB Pwdw 8 Aub.Tema s Iw[w%as Wet lFNen%. wnNka cwwn+e� aagnsb wt°6niR Environmental Justice P Economic °° °°°a° YN Uec%as a +2 22rN R 2 Development, Remembrance). ae�R la AuaNnmal maaa.e Tem PmP%en° Pedal 12 +2 +s +a We discussed all the necessary steps for a hearing: conceptualization, preparation, implementation, rituals PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: THE TRC OF PERU ANNUAL PLANNING and follow up. Looking Ahead to Phase Two Focus on Truth telling Event Readiness Ground-truthingand Fact-Finding Reconciliation Support with Healing Partners Healing Circle Trainings with Native Partners ■ Two clays- introductory sessions ■ Weeklong Training for interested Circle Keepers Attendance at all events/meetings for support and holding space/activation responses Connect events/meetings with Trauma-informed practitioners as needed Present Clty-wide Restorative Justice Network Proposal People Test Projects Truthgiving Festival: (FF/TT) MILK Breakfast: (TT) Black Educator's Work Group (R) Civic Leadership Program (R) Housing Initiative (R) Black Business Wealth (R) The Film of Iowa City's TRC Indigenous People's Day (FF/TT) And more! Further Recommendations • Continued facilitation for the TRC Discuss and reflect the contents of the trainings of this phase, presenting a progress report to the City Council Potential for Facilitated Retreat for team building during the second phase of the project. Focus on the consistency of work in the four factors we have examined: strategic doing, truth-telling, fact-finding and healing. • People Test Projects Civic Leadership Program (R) Truthgiving Festival (FF/TT) Housing Initiative (R) MILK Breakfast (TT) Black Business Wealth (R) R C Black Educator's Group (R) The Film of Iowa City's TRC v PRESENTATION CONCLUDED CITY OF IOWA CITY 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1826 (3 19) 356-5000 (319) 356-5009 FAX www.icgov.org