Articles, Reviews and News
July 10, 2021
PODCAST: Bravethrough - Dr. Maya Soetoro-NG featuring Grande Lum
June 21, 2021
Medium: Alliance for Peacebuilding
My Dad’s Voice Returns for Fathers’ Day
This first Fathers’ Day after the pandemic will be one I remember for the rest of my life. While my dad died in 2006, I often say that he is with me every day. But this year, he became even more present — his words came back not just to me but to the rest of my family, to many of my friends and to a growing audience at a time of historic racial reckoning — and of hope.
Let me explain.
June 17, 2021
Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) urges House Appropriations to Increase CRS Budget in FY22.
May 18, 2021
The Hill
Getty Images
Biden should make the Community Relations Service his 'secret weapon'
BY GRANDE LUM AND GRACE FLORES-HUGHES, OPINION CONTRIBUTORS
The outcome of the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin caused many to reflect on where we stand as a nation on the long march toward racial justice. For many, it was a small but important step in acknowledging that, for too long and too often, what should be manageable, nonviolent police encounters across race end up in tragedy, with the ultimate price often being paid by Black and Brown victims.
But what if there were a way to make these encounters less frequent, less violent and less deadly? What if there were mechanisms to resolve conflict while promoting more positive police-community relations? Are there solutions available to leaders of law enforcement, civil rights groups, local governments and community organizations? The answer to these questions is “yes, there are”
May 4, 2021
Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) asks “Is CRS scalable?”
“Some communities are distrustful of law enforcement and attorneys offices but may be more receptive to someone from CRS for solutions that bring restorative justice and peace to their community. So I wanted to ask from your perspective, “Is CRS scalable?” How can we work to ensure that CRS will engage with communities on the ground. And separately, how can DOJ help local community groups seek help outside of the criminal justice system in developing alternativea to carceral punishment for those convicted of hate crimes?”
ABC NEWS
April 20, 2021
Police departments across US brace for Derek Chauvin verdict
“…The Department of Justice has also deployed specialists from its Community Relations Service -- which specializes in conflict resolution and mediating disputes -- to the Minneapolis area, two Justice Department officials told ABC News. Agency officials have been meeting with community stake holders in an effort to encourage the peaceful exercise of First Amendment activities, officials said. The deployment, which began about two weeks ago, was first reported by The Associated Press.” (Emphasis added).
Members of the National Guard on duty in Minneapolis, April 18, 2021, ahead of the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
April 8, 2021
PODCAST: New Books Network - Political Science - To listen, click here.
“…This is a fascinating history of this often- overlooked governmental institution, and in our podcast conversation, Grande and I also discuss the process of updating the book itself, since he had made such great use of the original edition when he first became Director of the CRS. In taking the original text and adding in another two decades of history, Grande Lum worked with Bertram Levine’s children to make sure his work was also in the spirit of their father’s work, since Levine had written the original edition of the book. This podcast is an engaging discussion about the history of the Community Relations Service itself, the book that incorporates that history, highlighting the many successes of these domestic mediators and peacemakers, and the process for collaboratively updating this kind of a book. Lum also discusses some of the projects that have come out of the CRS, including the Divided Community Project at the Moritz School of Law at the Ohio State University (https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/dividedcommunityproject/), and other community mediation centers in different states and localities around the United States. These local and national organizations, along with the CRS, have been pursuing many of the ideas that are currently being discussed about law enforcement reform….”
March 27, 2021
From $15 million to $0: As racial tensions simmered, Trump administration sought to defund DOJ 'peacemaker' unit. Kevin Johnson, USA Today
“As racial tensions spilled into America’s streets, the Trump administration repeatedly sought to eliminate a long-standing Justice Department unit that for decades has mediated racial, ethnic and gender clashes that are once again surging across the country.”
March 18, 2021
ABCNEWS7 - INTERVIEW
VIDEO : San Francisco Bay Area Asian Americans share incidents of hate as violence surges in the community
by Kristen Sze and Eric Shackelford
March 17, 2021
Grande Lum, “The attacks on Asian Americans won't just go away. We must act,” San Francisco Chronicle
February 17, 2021
.Book Review by Deanna Pantin Parrish, ABA Dispute Resolution Bookshelf
January 27 -29, 2021
Grande Lum accepts International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution’s Annual Book Award for America’s Peacekeepers.
January 28, 2021
Book Review by Howard Gadlin, Conflict Resolution Quarterly
November 6, 2020
University of Missouri Press Release: “A History of the COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE: A Small Federal Agency That Made a Big Difference in Civil Rights”
October 11, 2020 Indisputably
Timely New Book on Racial Reconciliation Initiative
by John Lande
Other Articles by Grande Lum
“Trump Budget Would End Agency that Resolves Differences in a Time of Deep Division” The Hill. February 23, 2018 (op-ed)
“Still Relishing Being Angry? Or Ready to Start Talking About an American Spirit 2.0?” Center for Media and PeaceBuilding. December 2017 (Co-authored with Nancy Rogers)
“Preventing Division-Five Social Media Strategies for Community Leaders” Nextdoor’s Community Engager. August 2017 (Co-authored with William Froehlich)
“Planning in Advance of Civil Unrest: A Role for Mediation-wise Attorneys” American Bar Association. Dispute Resolution Magazine. Summer 2016 (Co-authored with Nancy Rogers and William Froehlich)
"To Prevent More George Floyd Tragedies, We Need Federal Peacemakers to Bring Communities and Law Enforcement Together" Medium July 15, 2020 (Co-authored with Grace Flores-Hughes)
"Trump Administration Should Begin with a Stand Against Hate Crimes" Huffington Post January 31, 2017 (Co-authored with Darby Collins)