Civil Rights Mediation
Oral History Project Phase I

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Civil Rights Mediation
Oral History Project Phase I

Home | Overview | Phase I | Phase II

 

Did CRS ever co-mediate with mediators who were not with the agency?


Angel Alderete

 [Full Interview] [Topic Top]

Question:
Did you usually work alone or did you have a co-mediator?

Answer:
In mediation I usually worked alone. Many times, from the very beginning to the end. There were times -- two times -- where somebody else started the process towards mediation and then when he got very close to it, he called me in, or she'd call me in, and we'd work to get it towards that end and I would mediate. That was when we had conciliators who were conciliators, and mediators who were mediators, and the differentiation was that I did the official hard-core mediation and they did all the conciliation work.



Will Reed

 [Full Interview] [Topic Top]

Sometimes you developed strategy with somebody that wasn't part of the agency but who might have been, for example, another agency, a sister agency, contemporaries or what have you. You might find yourself developing some strategy with the police department. You might find yourself discussing strategy with a community action director. You might find yourself discussing strategy with anybody that you felt fit into the scheme of things to the point where they could make a contribution and where you were comfortable with their input. And that happens lots of times when you are in the field. Especially if you are out there and you are by yourself. And if you're by yourself, you're trying to figure out who you're going to work with. Who's amicable to this situation? Who's hostile to the situation?





Will Reed

 [Full Interview] [Topic Top]

That took about three days of phone calls -- getting individuals from Washington involved, from the Community Action Program (CAP), getting some people from the regional CAP involved, and so forth.



Dick Salem

 [Full Interview] [Topic Top]

Question:
Why did you send four people up originally? That sounds like a higher number than our other interviewees in the initial assessment.

Answer:
The first assessment that I did, we sent Jim Freeman from the Washington staff and one field worker from my region with him. That was about par for the course. I might have even sent Greenwald up because he was a specialist, too, having done Louisiana. When I went in, I just figured I needed all the help I could get. Greenwald was available, and that just made me stronger, I wouldn't have known how to interpret anything up there. The guys could help me, and then I just winged it after that.





Copyright © 2000-2007
by Conflict Management Initiatives and the Conflict Information Consortium

Beyond Intractability maintains this legacy site as it was created in 2007 with only minor formatting changes made in conjunction with the posting of Phase II of the Civil RIghts Mediation project in 2025.
Copyright © 2000-2007
by Conflict Management Initiatives and the Conflict Information Consortium

Beyond Intractability maintains this legacy site as it was created in 2007 with only minor formatting changes made in conjunction with the posting of Phase II of the Civil RIghts Mediation project in 2025.