The Kerner Commission was a 1968 report constituted by President Lyndon Johnson about how the “nation is moving towards two societies, one black, one white–separate and unequal.'' The report gave an explanation to the riots exploding all over the country since 1964: discrimination and segregation. The report encouraged the promotion of racial integration and the creation of jobs and decent housing for African Americans. The report suggested that without a change in course, it will “involve the continuing polarization of the American community and, ultimately, the destruction of basic democratic values”. It also explained the levels of intensity that had led to the riots, the first being police practices.
After the report was released, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in April 1968. Although legislative successes such as the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts were in place, there was a divide between African Americans and whites in their daily lives. President Johnson faced major backlash from the polls in 1964 for his views portrayed in the Kerner Commission, some saying that “Johnson was pushing too aggressively”. Despite Johnson’s efforts, the commission was forgotten about when Nixon came into presidency. Even with having the first black president, poverty in African American communities remains. The efforts to end racial inequality has only been scattered throughout America’s history and racial inequality will continue unless a “radical” approach is taken.
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One vital part of the Kerner commission was that it addressed the real cause of the riots, and didn't just make minor changes to the surface symptoms caused by the underlying issues. The commission didn't just address the reaction of law enforcement—it would help the systematic injustices in housing, education, welfare, and income. Thornton predicted that America's future rested in the hands of conservatives that would weaken liberals in politics. Nixon was the start of that becoming true.
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