Civil Rights Groups

CRS piloted the newly developed Facilitating Meetings Around Community Conflict (FMACC) training program in February 2020 for Loudoun County, Virginia, community leaders. Through FMACC, CRS teaches community leaders the fundamentals of successfully facilitating meetings where community tension requires difficult conversations, including tools, helpful tips, and resources to prepare for, conduct, and follow up after the meetings.

In the fall of 2019, the Loudoun County branch of the NAACP requested CRS services to address community concerns about perceived racial bias in history classes in local schools and procedures for selection to attend the Academies of Loudoun, a public Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-focused high school, as well as incidents of Ku Klux Klan flyers anonymously distributed in communities in the county. Community members expressed concerns about the language used in public school textbooks and the perceived racial undertones of the curriculum’s interpretation of historical events. At the same time, reports circulated of the Ku Klux Klan’s active pursuit of members in some parts of the country. Given the broad range of community needs, in consultation with CRS, the Loudoun County NAACP branch requested that CRS conduct the FMACC training for a group of county community leaders to help build capacity across local organizations to address these concerns.

CRS conducted the program for 16 participants, including local religious leaders, educators, and community leaders. The training program uses skill-building exercises and scenarios to help participants practice the skills needed to successfully facilitate dialogues and encourage positive change in their community. The training also provides the opportunity for these leaders to share their knowledge related to facilitating groups, managing conflict, and exercising community leadership and discusses how they can collaborate in their communities to address sources of conflict and tension.

All participants agreed that the training was valuable and provided additional tools for tackling issues of conflict in their communities. CRS is currently modifying the program so it can be conducted virtually, as well as in person, beginning in early Fiscal Year 2022.

In February 2019, a photo surfaced on social media that appeared to show two local high school students in blackface. Viewers online quickly provided feedback to the two students that the image was offensive and the students removed it while posting an apology. The students received a one-day, in-school suspension. Some parents felt the discipline the students received was insufficient and that the incident was mishandled, thereby increasing community racial tension. Parents and community members expressed concerns to a local civil rights organization. The civil rights organization, along with the parents, requested a meeting with the superintendent.

After learning about the incident through media reports, CRS conducted outreach to the superintendent. A town-wide organization, Community for Care, hosted a City-Site Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues Together (City-SPIRIT) program to address racial conflict in the broader Simsbury community. They felt a City-SPIRIT program would meet their needs and ease tensions town-wide.

CRS helped form the planning group that organized the program, identified potential participants, and trained external facilitators. The May 2019 City-SPIRIT program attracted more than 100 participants. The program helped defuse local tensions by bringing together diverse community members, including elected town officials, faith-based leaders, parents, educators, and students. Participants identified a lack of education around race and diversity and a need for a more diverse police force as issues affecting their communities. City-SPIRIT participants also discussed issues affecting the school, including a perceived disparity in disciplinary actions and a lack of diversity among faculty, staff, and board of education members. The proposed suggestions fell into two broader categories of educational and community impact, so two councils were formed: (1) the Equity Council, composed of administration, faculty, students, parents and community-members to address educational actions, and (2) the SPIRIT Council, whose membership was derived from the City-SPIRIT program participants.

National and local African American civil rights organization representatives requested CRS services in March 2019, after Dayton, Ohio, city officials approved an event permit for a Ku Klux Klan affiliated group to hold a public event in May. The permit stated that the group would be engaged in “education and public speaking” at the Courthouse Square. The same day city officials approved the permit, county and city officials released separate statements condemning the content of the Ku Klux Klan affiliated group’s message, while supporting free speech and affirming their commitment to diversity and inclusion. Both statements stressed a commitment to public safety during the planned event.

CRS services were requested to address the community’s concerns about the group holding the event in Dayton, the potential security concerns surrounding the event, and the planned counter event.

In a March 2019 press conference, local civil rights leaders announced a counter event, a family-friendly, block party celebration with speakers and music. The event, “A Celebration of Love, Unity, and Diversity,” was intended to promote peace and improve public

In April 2019, CRS facilitated a community dialogue and provided contingency planning services in advance of the May events. CRS also conducted its training, Contingency Planning: Reducing Risk at Public Events, at a community forum with over 100 participants. The forum was moderated by a community coalition that has a broad-based and diverse community membership. The training increased participants’ knowledge of how to plan for a safe public event and decrease the potential for violence. The program included planning time for participants to begin preparing for the events and to address potential issues for maintaining public safety during the events. Just prior to the events, CRS conducted Event Marshal training at the request of community members who participated in the April training. CRS monitored both events. The events remained peaceful and there were no arrests or incidents of violence.

In March 2017, in Memphis, Tennessee, CRS received reports that community groups planned to stage protests amid racial tensions in the community and nationally. The protestors sought to bring public attention to allegations of social injustices in the community, and the possibility of a larger protest was anticipated. In the previous year, Memphis experienced a massive protest that resulted in the shutdown of the Hernando de Soto Bridge on Interstate 40. With tensions high in the region, the Memphis Police Department (MPD) Police Director requested CRS’s facilitated dialogue and consultation services to ensure a productive dialogue between the MPD and the community.

CRS provided technical assistance to the MPD as it prepared to host a public forum to address policing concerns expressed by African American community members. The event was designed to give the community an opportunity to provide input on solutions and strategies when interacting with police officers.

The forum took place in July 2017, and approximately 120 community members attended. CRS facilitated a dialogue between the community and the forum panelists, which included members of the MPD, state government, faith-based groups, civil rights organizations, and community youth.