James Davis -- Part 2

James Davis was Director of the Community Relations Service from 2012-2016. He is also co-author with Bertram Levine of America's Peacemakers: The Community Relations Service and Civil Rights.

There are 2 parts of this interview and a summary: Part 1, Part 2, and Davis Summary. This is the summary.

All Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEO2g2TpLNwd5_Ak8vR10C1crumREq8x

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUPosZH5CbA&list=PLNEO2g2TpLNwd5_Ak8vR10C1crumREq8x&index=1

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Fp5B4aHBw&list=PLNEO2g2TpLNwd5_Ak8vR10C1crumREq8x&index=2

 

 

James Davis Summary Part 1

As part of the Civil Rights Mediation Oral History Project, on January 5th, 2022, Bill Froehlich interviewed James Davis regarding his experiences working at CRS. James discusses his time working at CRS and his career trajectory prior to working with CRS. James Davis joined CRS in 1985 and retired from CRS in 1992. Davis talks about his other employment experiences, which included working as a United States special police officer, a patrolman in Washington DC, a criminal investigator, and a deputy United States Marshal.

James starts off by highlighting a specific case during his time with CRS regarding a hostage situation in Robinson Country, North Carolina, in February 1989. Two young Native Americans took the newspaper, the Robesonian, hostage to draw attention to the disenfranchisement and racial profiling experienced by minority races in the county. James was brought in to assist in resolving the situation with the FBI and a conciliator. James served as a conduit for communication between the FBI negotiators and the community leaders. The negotiations and involvement of CRS in the hostage situation led to the establishment of a tri-racial human relations commission, an investigation into the hostage taker’s allegations, and the creation of enterprise zones that provided financial resources to minority communities.

James also discusses the tension in the community and another incident that occurred shortly after the hostage situation. There was a shooting that resulted in the death of an indigenous candidate running for a judgeship against a district attorney in North Carolina. James was sent to investigate the situation and assist conciliators from Atlanta to understand what had happened. There was widespread community concern that the candidate had been targeted due to the previous hostage-taking situation. James explains his assessment process and the role of CRS in assisting in training, identifying specialists, and developing documentation. While discussing this incident, James emphasizes the importance of establishing relationships with community leaders and officials.

The conversation between James and Bill shifts to a discussion of table-oriented processes. James mentions the typical participants of the process, including the impacted parties, community leaders, conciliators, and law enforcement officials. James acknowledges the challenges in getting parties to the table and CRS’s ability to break down the resistance while resolving the involved parties’ concerns. James addresses the goals for CRS’s involvement stating that the goal is to help resolve the issue to the community’s satisfaction, but goals tend to be circumstance specific.

James dives into the role of a technical assistance provider in facilitating conversation related to law enforcement practices with black and indigenous communities. He emphasizes the importance of building trust and forthrightness. As a minority practitioner himself, sharing his lived experiences provides another perspective to the parties involved and adds value to the interactions by strengthening trust among the parties. James highlights the importance of keeping the conversations going and exploring whether personal values can be set aside to focus on resolving the overarching issues. The importance of understanding body language, cultural differences, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and the impact of these factors is also discussed. James expresses his belief that CRS can continue to be impactful in resolving racial and community issues in the county. Through the Civil Rights Mediation Oral History Project, James hopes that the next generation of conciliators and mediators can utilize the project as a resource for developing the necessary tools to provide services in the future.

James mentions that while working on cases for CRS he has not experienced issues with power disparities. However, he acknowledges the importance of addressing power disparities reinforcing the need for mutual respect between parties regardless of their status or credentials. James talks about mitigating tensions during mediation and his technique of taking a short pause by offering a mint or candy to reduce the tension. He also mentions the importance of keeping parties communicating in order for a resolution to be reached in the matter.

Continuing with the discussion of technical assistance, James states that he would provide resources and help them understand the situation better. However, it was the parties involved that were responsible for their own solutions. Another case illustration James mentions entails a shooting incident in Madison, North Carolina. James facilitated training sessions and connected the police chief with a larger police department to improve their ability to handle situations where the subject barricades themselves. The involvement of CRS in facilitating those trainings had a lasting impact on the community. When discussing the outcomes of CRS’s involvement over the years, James states that many outcomes have lasted. The success and long-term outcomes are a result of the agency’s work, the resources utilized, and the dedicated CRS employees. The interview concludes with James reflecting upon the differences between the past and present and the role technological advancement has changed the work of mediators and conciliators.

 

James Davis Summary Part 2

On May 17th, 2022, the second part of the interview with James Davis was conducted, building upon the previous conversation in January 2022 for the Civil Rights Mediation Oral History Project. James Davis worked at CRS from the mid-eighties to the early nineties. The interview highlights his involvement at CRS providing conciliation or mediation services.

James discusses his experience marshaling during protests in New York. His role was to keep people safe and support the field staff’s effort in keeping the peace during the event. James observed the protesters, ensured instructions were followed, and that law enforcement was aware of the presence of CRS at the event. James did not redirect protests or try to deter violence during protests or demonstrations. He remained neutral and focused on keeping people safe while providing assistance to the organizers of the protests.

James mentions the usage of partnerships like OTAS, the Police Executive Research Forum, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. James leveraged his connections within the law enforcement community to bring in outsiders that have the expertise and would assist in the case work in the field. During the interview, James provides an example of a situation in North Carolina with an extremist group and how leveraging a connection with a police chief in South Carolina to assist in handling the situation led to a positive outcome.

Another case discussed related to an incident that occurred in Forsyth, Georgia. A march organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was disrupted by the Ku Klux Klan. James was sent to Forsyth to provide support and protection throughout Forsyth County for the march to continue. James worked with the local law enforcement and highway patrol to provide coverage for the march.

The interview also touches on measuring success, political polarization, and the staffing of CRS. James mentions that measuring success relates to the effectiveness of the services provided and the resolution of the issues. Davis states that the increase in political polarization has impacted the work of CRS, and the fear or uncertainty in society has led to an increased tolerance of extremism and distrust of leadership. James discusses the decline in CRS staffing and the impact staffing has on the ability of CRS to effectively address community issues. James suggests that an increase in staffing would better serve the country by addressing issues early to prevent conflicts from escalating. James continues by emphasizing the importance of field staff in addressing the issues that face the nation. He highlights the three-stage process CRS uses which includes alerting, assessing, and providing assistance.

The conversation shifts to a discussion of the media’s role in the work of CRS. James states that CRS did not engage directly with the media. If there were inquiries regarding a case, the public information officer was responsible and contacted for handling the media’s perception or presentation of the case to ensure that the messaging was consistent with the perspective Department of Justice on the issue. The interview concludes with a discussion of navigating the bureaucracy of CRS and the DOJ. Davis suggests the increase in staffing and good mentorship for young conciliators would help in navigating the bureaucracy of CRS and the DOJ. 

 

SECOND SUMMARY James Davis

James “Jim” Davis worked in the CRS Office of Technical Assistance and Support as an Administration of Justice Specialist and retired in 1992. In this role, Davis assisted mediators and conciliators during their work on the ground by facilitating connections with the citizenry and bringing in expert advice during interventions, among other tasks. Davis was specifically trained in hostage negotiation and barricade subject activity.

He had the unique opportunity to put these skills into practice when dealing with a situation at a newspaper office in North Carolina in which two Native American men took the newspaper staff hostage. The perpetrators committed this act to bring attention to the disenfranchisement and racial profiling of minority communities in Robinson County, NC. After the hostage situation was diffused, a meeting of elected county officials was called to resolve the issues raised by perpetrators. As a result, a tri-racial (White, Black, and Native American) humans relations commission was established in the county. The United States government created enterprise zones in which minority communities and entrepreneurs received financial assistance and resources, of which Robinson County was the first. The outcomes of this case lasted over twenty years.

As a Black practitioner, Davis could often offer personal experiences during mediations and focused on helping affected parties to understand the dynamics of policy procedure while assuring them that he was doing all he could to uncover the truths of the issues causing tension in communities. Being forthright with involved parties during an intervention was one of Davis’ core values while working with CRS. Throughout his work, Davis focused on humanizing both sides of a mediation, especially when it came to mitigating tension between parties. He took care to build trust with the “big stick carriers” in communities, or those who have the most influence on citizens.

Davis worked with CRS during the transitions between the Reagan/Bush administration and the Bush/Clinton administration, but he did not experience any significant setbacks to his work with CRS as a result of shifts in partisan control.

Davis believes that CRS should increase its staffing to address the deep-seated polarization growing in America, as well as the nation’s growing acceptance of extremism. Davis made the interesting point that CRS could consider utilizing interested and retired former CRS employees to train and mentor the organization’s newcomers.

Davis loved his work with CRS due to its important service to the community and tangible, positive results that could be achieved relatively quickly for their magnitude of impact.