DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Helping our federal "peacemaker" use creative strategies to prevent community conflict

About the Project

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service (CRS), also known as the Department’s “peacemaker,” is tasked with addressing community conflicts and tensions that arise from differences of race, color, and national origin. Recognizing the need for more creative approaches to meeting their goals, they approached Active Voice in 2012 to strategize ways they could use film as a tool. We subsequently led a series of workshops among national and regional staff, in order to increase the capacity of CRS agents to use film in their community-building work. Since then, we’ve sparked new interest in film-based strategies among DOJ staff, and continue to explore opportunities for collaboration on a range of Active Voice campaigns.

Our Work

  • Workshop at the National Staff Conference: "Catalyzing Community Building: Using Film To Address Conflict"
  • Workshop at the Northeast Region Civil Rights Roundtable: "Supporting Civil Rights: Using Film to Build Understanding and Collaboration"

Outcomes

  • 50 national field agents trained to use film in community-building work
  • 15 northeast regional staff trained to use film in their civil rights work