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Why Lessons From The Kerner Commission Continue To Resonate

NPR
Published July 25, 2017 at 1:20 PM EDT
President Lyndon Johnson speaks to members of his advisory commission on civil disorders at the group's first meeting on July 29, 1967 at the White House, Washington. Otto Kerner, left, of Illinois, the chairman of the group and Mayor John Lindsay of New York (right) vice chairman. (AP Photo/WX)
President Lyndon Johnson speaks to members of his advisory commission on civil disorders at the group's first meeting on July 29, 1967 at the White House, Washington. Otto Kerner, left, of Illinois, the chairman of the group and Mayor John Lindsay of New York (right) vice chairman. (AP Photo/WX)

Fifty years ago this summer, race riots broke out in a number of American inner cities. In the aftermath, President Lyndon Johnson appointed a commission to determine the causes. It was called the Kerner Commission and its report provided a startling and controversial conclusion: “Our nation is moving towards two societies, one black, one white — separate and unequal.”

Last year, Lester Graham (@MichiganWatch) from Here & Now contributor Michigan Radio told us why the Kerner Commission’s recommendations were ignored, and why in an age of Black Lives Matter the report’s lessons still resonate.

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