The Complete Kerner Report: The Groundbreaking 1968 Federal Indictment of Racial and Economic Inequality in the U.S.

by National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, Cory Booker (Foreword by), Elizabeth Hinton (Foreword by)

Overview

“The Kerner report, by underscoring the interconnectedness of our social ills, offered an important reminder that we, as Americans, are intertwined. Our separateness is an illusion.” —From the Foreword by Cory Booker, U.S. Senator, New Jersey

This complete edition of the Kerner report includes the full text, as well as important graphs, statistics, and supporting materials.

Given the present-day threats to American democracy, Teachers College Press is publishing the complete version of the groundbreaking federal report with new introductions by U.S. Senator Cory Booker and American historian Elizabeth Hinton.

The subject of “The Riot Report,” a recent episode of the PBS documentary series American Experience, the Kerner Commission report was issued to address the urban riots during the summer of 1967, and to provide suggestions for improving race relations. Contrary to commonly held beliefs that largely blamed young Black men for the riots, this report pointed to a lack of economic opportunity, disastrous social service programs, white racism, police violence, and a biased national media.

This federal report is being reissued to accompany the new book edited by Alan Curtis, Creating Justice in a Multiracial Democracy, in which foremost thought leaders examine what, if any, progress has been made and provide recommendations for policy initiatives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807786093
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	10/25/2024
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.08(d)

About the Author

Chaired by Governor Otto Kerner Jr. of Illinois, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to determine the causes of urban riots during the summer of 1967 and to provide suggestions for improving race relations.

Table of Contents

Contents

The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders  v

Foreword to the 2024 Edition by Cory Booker  ix

Foreword to the 2024 Edition by Elizabeth Hinton  xv

Original Introduction  xix

Original Preface  xlvii

Part I. What happened?

1.  Profiles of Disorder  3

2.  Patterns of Disorder  62

3.  Organized Activity  103

Part II. Why Did It Happen?

4.  The Basic Causes  107

5.  Rejection and Protest: An Historical Sketch  110

6.  The Formation of the Racial Ghettos  133

7.  Unemployment, Family Structure, and Social Disorganization  147

8.  Conditions of Life in the Racial Ghetto  161

9.  Comparing the Immigrant and Negro Experiences  172

Part III. What Can Be Done?

10.  The Community Response  179

11.  Police and the Community  193

12.  Control of Disorder  216

13.  The Administration of Justice Under Emergency Conditions  228

14.  Damages: Repair and Compensation  246

15.  The News Media and the Disorders  250

16.  The Future of the Cities  273

17.  Recommendations for National Action  289

Conclusion  350

Link to Online Material  351

Notes  353

Index  414

Biographical Materials on Commissioners  426

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“The Kerner report, by underscoring the interconnectedness of our social ills, offered an important reminder that we, as Americans, are intertwined. Our separateness is an illusion.”
—From the Foreword by Cory Booker, U.S. Senator, New Jersey

“The Kerner Commission’s proposed transformation had the potential to fulfill the unfinished promises of the Civil War and Reconstruction. It offered a blueprint to bring the nation closer to an enduring multiracial democracy, one that could have begun in the 1860s, the 1960s, and still could (and should) begin today.”
—From the Foreword by Elizabeth Hinton, professor of history, African American studies, and law at Yale University

"Although it was published more than five decades ago, the Kerner Commission report remains essential reading for anyone who cares about racial justice in America. As Professor Elizabeth Hinton observes in her brilliant foreword, the Commission exposed the gap between the American ideal of equality and the reality of deeply embedded racism. This searing indictment of American politics in the 1960s is even more relevant today as right-wing demagogues try to whitewash the nation's ongoing struggle with racial discrimination."
—Steven M. Gillon, author of Separate and Unequal: The Kerner Commission and the Unraveling of American Liberalism

“The Kerner Commission report is among the most significant interrogations of the question of race and inequality in the nation's history. Amid the current tides of retrenchment and racial antagonism, this volume remains as urgent and relevant as it was the day it was first released.”
—Jelani Cobb, dean, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University

“The Kerner report’s call for the nation to come together to end systemic racial inequality is as powerfully moving today as it was when first published in 1968. In his compelling foreword to this timely new edition, Cory Booker tells us how its message of compassion and justice can inspire us today to realize the promise of American democracy.”
—Malcolm McLaughlin, associate professor, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England

"The Kerner report remains, more than a half-century after it was released, a snapshot of a troubled time and a roadmap for an unfinished journey. This timely new edition features a powerful and provocative introduction by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) who spotlights the liberal limitations of the report's vision, the progress made since 1968, and the distance we still have to go to achieve racial and economic justice in America."
—Michael Flamm, professor, Ohio Wesleyan University