In March 1965, CRS assisted in preventing violence and civil disorder between protesters, law enforcement, and community members during the final two of three marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The Selma to Montgomery marches were part of a Voting Rights Movement, protesting legislation that effectively prevented African American and other minority community members the opportunity to exercise their constitutionally protected right to vote. Following the first voting rights march when law enforcement officers injured 84 protesters, President Lyndon Baines Johnson called on CRS to keep the next two voting rights marches peaceful.

CRS worked with protest leaders in Selma, including the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., law enforcement representatives, and city officials to craft agreements on how far the protesters would be able to progress along the route and the response demonstrators would receive when they encountered law enforcement on the parade route. Due in part to CRS's work with the community and law enforcement, the second and third voting rights marches remained peaceful.

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