11/8/2023 0 Comments Kerner report findings![]() Sometimes there were two riots-the police and those they sought to control. In 1967 police action could often be described as too much too soon or too little too late. Once on the street, police responses were a central factor in whether violence escalated. In the 1960s, incidents (and sometimes rumors) of police violence were most often what drew protesters, rioting protesters, and opportunistic rioters to the streets. Police remain the fulcrum for accumulated grievances. Despite improvement in some areas, the combustible mix that led to the 1960s disorders is still here. The Ferguson protests and disorder and the overwhelming police response to this social unrest provide a reminder that, more than any other institution, police symbolize the American racial order. For the contemporary period, we consider the policing of protests that emerged with a case study of Ferguson, Missouri, following the police killing of Michael Brown. We use some of their 1968 recommendations as the framework to contrast police behavior then and now. The commission's "Supplement on Control of Disorder" considered problems related to operational planning, logistical needs, training, control equipment, coordination, and legal needs. Police were a central factor in the 1967 disorders studied by the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission, thus the Kerner report ). At a moment when the facts of history themselves are being undermined, when the Supreme Court has deemed civil-rights protection no longer necessary and the myth of white innocence has gained renewed traction, the Kerner Commission Report remains essential reading - discouragingly so.-Institute for Intergovernmental Research 2015 But it is also essential in the sense of being an extremely important, even necessary, read. ![]() This book is essential in the sense of containing the fundamental parts. I wouldn’t have complained if both the introduction and the Q&A were half again as long, providing just a bit more context. A Q&A section at the end fills in some gaps about what happened after the report’s release: Why didn’t Black residents just move out of blighted neighborhoods? Did the report discuss defunding the police? Has there been progress since it came out? This chapter is too short. They are vague on their reasoning.There are some interesting choices that would have benefitted from more explanation. Although the edits are helpful, the editors could have been more transparent about their process. ![]() While reinforcing the connection between systemic inequality and civil unrest, this section of the report shows why the press had failed at that very task. ![]() On policing, the report does a great job of detailing how police-community confrontations were 'merely a spark' inciting unrest by embedding officer misconduct within larger structural inequalities - segregated neighborhoods, substandard housing and low-paying (or no) jobs. Cobb’s and Guaraglia’s edits draw attention to misconceptions regarding the key players in civil unrest then and now: police, protestors and the media. The report itself remains remarkably salient and readable. ![]()
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