The CVL began to work for the community. They intervened in gang wars and looked for ways to get kids and young men off the streets. They told kids it was stupid to be killing each other.

The CVL transformed a pool hall at 3655 W. 16th Street into a place for Lawndale's youth and young adults to hang out. Their reputation grew around the country. Militant civil rights groups came to meet with them.

The rising consciousness of Black people in Lawndale and elsewhere also effected the CVL. They realized that it was not Black people who were the enemy, but the white power structure that kept them divided and fighting among themselves.

They had an organizations with twenty six branches and thousands of members. They represented those on the bottom step of society, who wanted to climb up. They became determined to be the vehicle for change.

Bobby Gore on the House of Lords and other programs