TAMPA, Fla. — The city of Tampa’s Racial Reconciliation Committee will meet for the first time in the New Year to begin discussions on racial equality.

The city created the committee to review, study and make recommendations to City Council and the city of Tampa on housing, economic development, entrepreneurship and opportunities for young people.

The committee also will discuss creating public discourse on racial matters, greater citizen participation and aiding formerly incarcerated people back into society.

In 2021, after the George Floyd protests, Tampa’s City Council apologized for its challenges with racism in the past, but the matter remained dormant for years after that.

Connie Burton will be sworn in as the second vice president of Hillsborough County’s NAACP this week, and was also selected as president of the committee.

In an interview this week, Burton said she hopes the committee isn’t just for optics, and the city is serious about adopting actions the committee recommends.

“Either we are going to have one unified Tampa, or a Tampa that is divided based on those that continue to have policies and barriers in place that prevent people from moving forward, or that the city is really genuinely interested in saying it welcomes this opportunity to make repairs to damage and harm that was done,” Burton said.

It will provide its recommendations to city officials this summer.