A landmark study of racism, inequality, and police violence that continues to hold important lessons todayThe Kerner Report is a powerful window into the roots of racism and inequality in the United States. Hailed by Martin Luther King Jr. as a "physician's warning of approaching death, with a prescription for life," this historic study was produced by a presidential commission established by Lyndon Johnson, chaired by former Illinois governor Otto Kerner, and provides a riveting account of the riots that shook 1960s America. The commission pointed to the polarization of American society, white racism, economic inopportunity, and other factors, arguing that only "a compassionate, massive, and sustained" effort could reverse the troubling reality of a racially divided, separate, and unequal society. Conservatives criticized the report as a justification of lawless violence while leftist radicals complained that Kerner didn't go far enough. But for most Americans, this report was an eye-opening account of what was wrong in race relations.Drawing together decades of scholarship showing the widespread and ingrained nature of racism, The Kerner Report provided an important set of arguments about what the nation needs to do to achieve racial justice, one that is familiar in today's climate. Presented here with an introduction by historian Julian Zelizer, The Kerner Report deserves renewed attention in America's continuing struggle to achieve true parity in race relations, income, employment, education, and other critical areas.

General Editor's Introduction, Sean Wilentz ix
Introduction to the 2016 Edition, Julian E. Zelizer xiii
Foreword xxxvii
The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders xxxix
Summary 1
Preface 31
PART I. WHAT HAPPENED?
Chapter 1. Profiles of Disorder 37
Chapter 2. Patterns of Disorder 106
Chapter 3. Organized Activity 202
PART II. WHY DID IT HAPPEN?
Chapter 4. The Basic Causes 207
Chapter 5. Rejection and Protest: An Historical Sketch 211
Chapter 6. The Formation of the Racial Ghettos 238
Chapter 7. Unemployment, Family Structure, and Social Disorganization 251
Chapter 8. Conditions of Life in the Racial Ghetto 266
Chapter 9. Comparing the Immigrant and Negro Experiences 278
PART III. WHAT CAN BE DONE?
Chapter 10. The Community Response 285
Chapter 11. Police and the Community 301
Chapter 12. Control of Disorder 324
Chapter 13. The Administration of Justice under Emergency Conditions 338
Chapter 14. Damages: Repair and Compensation 359
Chapter 15. The News Media and the Disorders 364
Chapter 16. The Future of the Cities 390
Chapter 17. Recommendations for National Action 410
Conclusion 478
APPENDIXES
Remarks of the President upon Issuing an Executive Order Establishing a National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, July 29, 1967 479
Biographical Materials on Commissioners 482
Index 487