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

National Advisory Commission On Civil Disorders

Softcover

ISBN 10: 080778608X ISBN 13: 9780807786086

Publisher: Teachers College Press, 2024

Synopsis

“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.

“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

About this title

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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080778608X
• ISBN 13: 9780807786086
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480