Community Relations Service

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE (CRS) CONDUCTED THE ARAB, MUSLIM AND SIKH CULTURAL AWARENESS PROGAM HOSTED AT THE ELLIS ISLAND IMMIGRATION MUSEUM BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IN NEW YORK, NEW YORK

      WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department's Community Relations Service (CRS), in coordination with the Sikh Coalition and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), conducted four sessions of CRS' Arab, Muslim and Sikh Cultural Awareness Program in New York, New York on June 6, 8, 13, and 15, 2006.

       Approximately 100 National Park Service Police and security personnel attended the series of seminars that were hosted by the National Park Service at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum.

      "This was a wonderful opportunity to bring together members of the Arab, Muslim and Sikh communities and National Park Service staff to build partnerships and trust, and to enhance cultural competency," said CRS Director Sharee M. Freeman, who attended the June 8th seminar.

       CRS developed the Arab, Muslim and Sikh Cultural Awareness Program to assist local, state and federal law enforcement, and government officials, and community members in developing cultural understanding and awareness, to foster a cooperative spirit within the community, and to decrease community anxiety.

       CRS is a unique federal agency dedicated to preventing and resolving conflicts arising from racial and ethnic issues. For more information about the Community Relations Service, a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, visit its website at: www.usdoj.gov/crs.