For the CRS Records

CRS Alumni can record history of experiences, great techniques that worked, or words of wisdom for others. For example here is some background on the SPIRIT program developed in request made by the Associate Director Ben Lieu.

From: Stephen Thom [mailto:snthom32@yahoo.com]


Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2013 09:37 PM

To: Lieu, Ben (CRS)

Subject: Re: FW: Question On CRS' SPIRIT. Program...

I first heard of the SPIRIT concept in 1985 from Julian Klugman, Region 9 Director. He was working with Barbara Huie of Headquarters, Program Support. Barbara asked me to participate in a experimental school race relations program at Stagg High School in Fresno, CA.as a joint agency project. I was not able to participate since I at the time was employed as the Director of Asian Pacific American Concerns Office in the Department of Education and not available. Between 1985 and 1987 Region 9 conducted one or two other High School Race Relations Programs still modifying and adjusting it. In 1987, I came on to the Region 9 staff and worked with Barbara Greenberg, Julian Klugman, Booker Neal, Joel Benavidez and myself to conduct a Race Relations Program at Las Vegas High School. Other Region 9 staff arranged SPIR programs using only CRS staff at High School in Moreno Valley, and Long Beach. Barbara Greenberg former CRS Hqt.Education Specialist and Region 9 Conciliator wrote an article on the SPIR (Student Problem Solving Identification/Resolution) Program in the NASSP Bulletin in 1991. The next big break through took place when Booker Neal, Conciliation Specialist worked with the Asian Advisory Committee to the Oakland Police Department to conduct a SPIR program using community volunteers and police officers as facilitators. This step using other than CRS staff made the program feasible and available lowering the burden on CRS staff. Recognizing the benefits of training community volunteers, I began developing forms and boiler plate guides for conducting the SPIR programs and wrote an article "Building Bridges Among Diverse Students" for the School Safety Magazine in the Fall 1994 in which we changed SPIR to SPIRIT (Student Problem Identifying and Resolving Issues Together) to better describe the involvement of students and community leaders, professional and lay person working together to improve race relations. By this time, the SPIRIT program was packaged and being shared at staff conferences. There is some history in both of the SPIR and SPIRIT articles. If you do not have access to them, I could scan you a copy of each. I received alot of the credit for the SPIRIT program, because I organized and packaged it for easier replication, but all of Region 9 and Barbara Huie played a role and could be considered founders. Including Vermont and Bill Briggs who were not mentioned above. I hope this helps. Please keep it somewhere safe, I won't remember anything in ten years or so.

Passing of Tommie Jones

Tommie Jean Clark Jones

>

> After reading the e-mail that was sent to staff last week regarding the loss of Bob Hughes, Ken Bergeron informed me about the recent passing of another CRS alum, Tommie Jones. Here is a copy of the current Directors release to staff about Tommie Jones.

> Prior to Joining CRS as a Conciliator with the Midwest Region in 1974, Ms. Jones was a school teacher in Dayton, Ohio. Fittingly, she played a vital role in school desegregation cases that were prevalent at the time. She worked school desegregation cases in her hometown of Dayton, Cleveland, Detroit, and other cities. Ms. Jones also worked as a Senior Conciliation Specialist in the Central Region before being named Regional Director of the Northeast Region in 1982.
> During a recent conversation between Deputy Director Gilbert Moore and Jesse Taylor, the former director of the Midwest regional office, who knew her well, Taylor described Tommie as "energetic and supportive of CRS' mission." He went on to say , " she was very, very, aggressive and would not hesitate to go to the very top of a local government or law enforcement organization to make sure the decision-makers were a part of the mediation process..She was results oriented."
   Ms. Jones served as the Regional Director in New York for eight years until leaving the agency in 1990 to return to her first love, teaching science. She passed away on November 6th at her home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

> Grande H. Lum
> Director
> Community Relations Service
> U.S. Department of Justice
> 600 E Street, NW, Suite 6000
> Washington, D.C. 20530
> http://www.justice.gov/crs/

Farewell to Robert Hughes

Robert Hughes a Senior Concilliator from Region X recently passed away. He was well known for his work against hate groups in the Northwest. Bob in his later years was instrumental in forming the Northwest Council Against Hate Crimes. In his earlier days he was a pioneer of the civil rights movement  in the South. Attached is a email from Leo Cardenas with contact information.

Subject: Fw: Robert E. Hughes


Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:51:35 +0000

From: P. Diane Schneider

To: Leo Cardenas

I was not sure if you had been notified. Bob Hughes. Has pased away.

------Original Message------

From: sandra.blair@usdoj.gov

To: Carol Russo

To: gilrossh@yahoo.com

To: pdianes25@hotmail.com

Subject: Robert E. Hughes

Sent: Dec 12, 2012 6:04 PM

Service:

January 5, 2013 - Saturday

2:00 PM

Mercer Island United Methodist Church

7070 South East 24th Street

Mercer Island, WA 98040

phone: 206-232-3044

Condolences and expressions of sympathy may be sent to:

Mrs. Dorothy Hughes

100 Timber Ridge Way NW, Unit 4216

Issaquah, WA 98027

 

A CRS Giant Passes On

Colleagues we are sorry to report that Roscoe Nix former CRS mediator passed away on January 2, 2012 at a hospital in Riverdale, Georgia. Roscoe was 90 when he died of parkinson disease and complications of pnemonia. He served as a civil rights activist for over a half century since his roots of growing up in segregated schools in Alabama to staging demonstrations after experiencing the refusal of service at a restaurant in Silver Springs, Md. Following this activism, Roscoe worked in serveral federal positions including as a CRS Conciliator. In 1974, he was elected to the Board of Education of Montgomery County in Md. where he advocated for de facto desegregation and fought for the equity of resources and the rights of African American students. Roscoe retired from CRS in 1984. In 2001, He was named to the Montgomery County Human Rights Hall of Fame, and in 2006, a school in Silver Springs was named the Roscoe R. Nix Elementary School in homor of his contributions to justice. For more information see: Washington Post January 6, 2012 article written by Michael Alison Chandler. Thanks to Leo Cardenas for sending in information.

Obama appointment of CRS Director

12/8/11 - Just recieved this update from Leo Cardenas:

President Obama has nominated Grande Lum to be the Director of CRS according to a recent note from the Acting Director. She noted that Grande Lum has a passion for the mission of CRS and is leading expert in mediation. He has served as a Clinical Professor of law and Director of the Center for Negotiations and Dispute Resolution at UC Hastings Law School, He received his BA in Education at Berkeley and JD at Harvard. He is the founder and former Managing Director of Accordence and has taught at both Stanford and U.C. Berkeley.

In addition, Gilbert Moore was named Deputy Director of CRS. Gilbert Moore has served on detail from COPS at CRS for several months. Congratulations

Please stay tune.

Alumni please join me in a big welcome to CRSAA for Diane Mitchum.

Passing of Gilbert Chavez

Gil Chavez

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CHAVEZ
Gil Chavez, passed away on Saturday, December 11, 2010, in San Antonio at his home. His illustrious public service career began in 1960, in his home town of Phoenix, where as an elementary school teacher he quickly demonstrated an overarching desire to help poor students. Within a few years, in 1965, his drive, commitment and reputation catapulted him into an influential role, as Director of the Head Start Program, in Maricopa, Arizona. Two years later, Gil moved to the State of Washington to serve as Executive Director of the Migrant Farm Worker Education Program. Gil worked many jobs as a boy and boxed for a championship Golden Gloves title in Arizona. After an honorable stint with the US Air Force, he earned three degrees in the field of education, culminating in a Masters Degree from Arizona State University in 1964. Later while working in the Washington, DC area he completed numerous graduate courses as part of a PhD program. Gil quickly rose to prominent positions as an educator at the departments of Labor and Education, in Washington. During his 32 years in Washington, he was an enormous presence in the Hispanic civil rights arena. It is not an overstatement to say that Gil Chavez was a heroic figure in Washington. He earned a reputation for being outspoken and fearless wherever he saw injustice, regardless of which political party was in power. He was one of the founders and an early president of IMAGE, Inc., a fair employment organization that brought lawsuits and pressure against agencies and officials with egregious records of discrimination. Gil was everywhere, and wherever he put his shoulder to the wheel, there were visible results. In 1973, Gil prompted Congressional Hearings to take into questionable hiring and promotion practices at four major federal departments - which resulted in a Congressional rebuke against them - and results that overcame deficiencies that surfaced during the hearings. Gil was often quoted in Washington Post and Federal Times articles denouncing practices and records of various federal departments and agencies, and sometimes even the Administration in power. Rarely do career executives risk careers with the constant valor shown by Gil Chavez. In 1992, Gil served as Regional Director of Community Relations Service, under the Department of Justice in Dallas, retiring in 1999, and shortly thereafter moving to San Antonio. Gil was a community relations liaison for The National Council of La Raza and assisted with the Census Bureau during the 2000 decennial census. Gil was an energetic supporter and promoter of the Boys Club organization in San Antonio and helped find sponsors for its annual Youth Banquets. Gil assisted many other local civic organizations, such as LULAC and the Hispanic community. A devout Catholic, one of the many roles that he cheerfully undertook was supporting community outreach efforts by the Church. Gil was a close friend and associate of Archbishop Patricio Flores, often serving as his driver and companion. They met in the mid-70s as founding members of the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund and continued for many years serving on its board of directors. Gil is survived by his loving wife, Yolanda, who cared for him in their home during the last five years. They had two children, Stuart Chavez and wife Pat, Cristal Chavez Smith and husband Alex. He is also survived by three children from a previous marriage, Cynthia Chavez Lugo, Camille Bandin, and Michael Chavez; by his mother Henrietta Bernal; by nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; and by his brother, Waldo Bernal and sisters, Consuelo Chavez and Magda Broderick. The family requests that in lieu of flowers to please consider sending a donation to A. MCD Health Care - Hospice, 4903 Golden Quail, Ste. 110, San Antonio, Texas 78240 or the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 600 SW 19th Street, San Antonio, Texas, 78207.

MEMORIAL ROSARY
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 16, 2010
7:00 P.M.
PORTER LORING NORTH CHAPEL

MEMORIAL MASS
FRIDAY
DECEMBER 17, 2010
1:00 P.M.
HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC CHURCH
20423 Huebner Rd.