In 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johson said, "A challenge to all of us to go to work in our communities and our states, in our homes and in our hearts, to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country." President Johnson made this important statement when he signed the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act. And, while sixty years later we have made enormous progress in eliminating injustice in our beloved country, there is still lots more work to do.

For America to be a more perfect union, all citizens must participate fully in the electoral process as well as full participation in social and civic life. This means that we must all do our part to assure that any barriers to full participation related to race, sex, religion, ethnicity, national origin, age, and disability are removed. Going forward, we must be on guard to assure that legislation is not enacted that could result in destroying the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Instead, we should consider actions that will further the reach of the Civil Rights Act, to ensure equity for all people.

One opportunity to strengthen implementation of the Civil Rights Act is the mandate in Section 10 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Section 10 signifies the federal government’s willingness to offer strong support for community-based problem solving and peacebuilding. To this end, the Act establishes and resources two efforts, both of which are designed to include community voices often marginalized or left out entirely.

First, we need to strengthen and protect the Community Relations Service (CRS) in the U.S. Department of Justice. President Johnson talked in detail about the importance of the CRS for reconciliation and voluntary compliance with laws that enforce nondiscriminatory polices at accommodations, transportation, and voting. CRS needs consistency in leadership and insist that the current Acting Director Mr., Justin Lock, be immediately presented to the U.S. Senate for confirmation.

Second, Section 10 in the Civil Rights Act started the infrastructure of community-based mediation in the U.S. by enlarging dispute mechanisms that prioritize a role for communities in resolving their own disputes. President Richard Nison supported the establishment of locally-led infrastructure for community dispute resolution that was meant to work in tandem with CRS.

This mechanism focuses on facilitating the development of “Community Mediation Centers” (CMCs) that are throughout the country and work to resolve community-based conflicts. We know from experience that resolving conflicts requires collective response and is not a one-person or one-entity responsibility. Today, we must fight to maintain the nearly 500 CMCs that serve 500 distinctive communities across North America. And, the majority of those centers are members of the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM), a national non-profit organization dedicated to conflict resolution.

Grassroots CMCs offer support on the ground in real time to those in conflict and are bridges between federal action and local disruptions, disturbances, and disputes. CMCs stand for and with community members and operate as barometers reflecting changes in the political, economic, communication, and social conditions, as well as opinions of the people about conflict and dispute resolution.