Miguel Hernández was a conciliator with CRS from 1971-1977 and then again from 1988-1995.

All Videos – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEO2g2TpLNx8XdmwX7OCpclEARbmas2o

• Part 1 – https://youtu.be/jqSaUl2cXI0
• Part 2 – https://youtu.be/_uaYer84jkY
• Part 3 – https://youtu.be/pvwtBGlMx_w

 

Summary—

Miguel Hernandez worked with CRS from 1971 to 1977 and again from 1988 to 1995. In his interview with Professor Bill Froehlich, Hernandez spoke of a few notable cases on which he worked during his time at the organization.

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, there was tension between the Hasidic and Puerto Rican communities over which group would gain access to a new housing development being built in the neighborhood. Hernandez leveraged his personal connections with both communities, engaging them in shuttle diplomacy to work towards a resolution to the dispute. He was called off the case by mayor Rudy Giuliani before he could conclude the mediation.

Hernandez also worked on a case involving Texaco, in which Black employees filed discrimination complaints against the company. He was called in to mediate the case by his personal friend, Charles Brieant, who was the federal judge working on the case. However, a Texaco employee exposed the company to be actively discriminating against their Black employees while Hernandez was supposed to mediate the case. Once the employee’s information got to the media, the case “blew up in [Hernandez’s] face.”

Hernandez also worked internationally during his time with CRS. In Guantanamo, Cuba, and Panama, he served as a liaison between Cuban and Haitian refugee camp leadership and military officials. Hernandez reported refugee grievances, such as issues with camp livability, to military officials during his time in Cuba and Panama. He also worked in Ireland and Romania as a specialist on the Roma people, during which he worked to solve issues between Roma people and Irish citizens and spent time working with the Romanian national police. He was also sent to the Virgin Islands to work on the Fountain Valley murder case.

Hernandez often involved the chamber of commerce as a partner in his mediation efforts. He discusses several de-escalation tactics that he used over the course of his career, including humor, drawing demonstrators away from conflicts, and establishing rapport with local law enforcement officials.

Hernandez describes a few roadblocks to his work, such as the fact that community members—whether they be citizens or local law enforcement officials—were typically suspicious of CRS officials due to their status as federal employees. Additionally, Hernandez points out that it was difficult for him to work as a Hispanic mediator at times, for when a conflict involved a Hispanic group, his neutrality was often questioned.

Hernandez acknowledged during his interview that CRS’ work often goes unacknowledged—sometimes CRS workers “have to be the fall guy” and resolve conflict without acknowledgement from communities or higher-ups in the executive branch.

Hernandez had suggestions for the future of his former agency. He believes that CRS should make an effort to hire subject matter experts from many fields rather than principally prioritizing mediators, as those doing mediation work “need other types of backup.” He also suggested the establishment of a CRS advisory group comprised of former CRS employees to convene and discuss twice per year about the general direction of the agency.

A few of Hernandez’s biggest mentors during his time at CRS were Bob Lamb, John Terronez, Wallace Warfield, and Jim Pettis.