21 min
Urban Uprisings: The Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (AKA the Kerner Commission). Deeply Rooted Heritage
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- Society & Culture
During these pressing times, we all need to be more vigilant in our efforts to combat prejudice and stand up for social justice. Civil unrest is not new in America...in fact, it's deeply embedded in our history. Recent urban uprisings are a direct response to centuries of unchecked police behavior but, in essence, they seek to affect large-scale changes to the way minorities in this country are treated in our governmental system. At this time, on the side of the federal government, not much is being done to understand the root causes and solve today's problems; however, historically there once was a leader who sought to better understand the challenges of one of the most marginalized groups in the country, African Americans. That leader was President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) who launched the War on Poverty and the Model Cities program, signed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, and initiated the 'Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders', more commonly known as the 'Kerner Commission'.
This mini-episode resurfaces the commission's findings in the Kerner Report in an in-depth, yet brief discussion about the history of urban uprisings with Dr. Eric Jackson from Northern Kentucky University. Check out the digitized Kerner Report here: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/8073NCJRS.pdf
During these pressing times, we all need to be more vigilant in our efforts to combat prejudice and stand up for social justice. Civil unrest is not new in America...in fact, it's deeply embedded in our history. Recent urban uprisings are a direct response to centuries of unchecked police behavior but, in essence, they seek to affect large-scale changes to the way minorities in this country are treated in our governmental system. At this time, on the side of the federal government, not much is being done to understand the root causes and solve today's problems; however, historically there once was a leader who sought to better understand the challenges of one of the most marginalized groups in the country, African Americans. That leader was President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) who launched the War on Poverty and the Model Cities program, signed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, and initiated the 'Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders', more commonly known as the 'Kerner Commission'.
This mini-episode resurfaces the commission's findings in the Kerner Report in an in-depth, yet brief discussion about the history of urban uprisings with Dr. Eric Jackson from Northern Kentucky University. Check out the digitized Kerner Report here: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/8073NCJRS.pdf
21 min