Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

The progress from Western colonial global expansion, and the construction of American wealth and industry on the backs of enslaved Blacks and Native peoples, followed by the abrupt "emancipation" of the slaves and their exodus from the South to the Northern cities, has led us to our current divided society. Divided by economic inequities and unequal access to social resources, the nation lives in a media dream of social harmony, or did until YouTube set its bed on fire. Now, it is common knowledge that our current system of brutal racist policing and punitive over-incarceration serves the dual purpose of maintaining racial prejudice and the inequities it justifies. Brief yourself on this late-breaking development in American history here.

Re: Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

Postby admin » Sat May 07, 2016 4:26 am

APPENDIX J: A STATEMENT ON METHODOLOGY

Two prime factors shaped the character and direction of the Commission's work. The first was time; the second, the scope of the task.

The Commission was established by the President on July 29, 1967.Under the terms of the Executive Order, it was directed to make an interim report not later than March 1, 1968,and a final report not later than July 29, 1968.

From the start, a sense of urgency dominated the Commission's work. This grew from month to month until in December, the decision was made to issue both the interim and final reports as a single document before March 1, 1968. Basic to this decision was the conviction that to present our major conclusions and recommendations in mid-summer would be to forfeit whatever opportunity might exist for the report "to affect this year the dangerous climate of tension and apprehension that pervades our cities."

At the same time, the Commission was faced with the task of analyzing a series of essentially local events, reporting "what happened" and "why it happened" in terms that would provide a national perspective. It also had responsibility to formulate a series of recommendations to answer the question "what can be done to prevent it from happening again and again."

The Work of the Commissioners

To accomplish these tasks within the stringent time limits indicated above, the Commissioners divided their work into two basic phases.

During the first phase, closed hearings were held in Washington, D.C., in order to bring before the Commission a full spectrum of witnesses whose testimony would aid the Commission in considering the wide range of issues raised by the President's charge.

In the initial hearings, the Commission sought information to determine as accurately as possible what happened during several major disorders. The Commission heard testimony from mayors and their top assistants, from police and fire department officials, from officers and workers of Human Relations Commissions, and from a variety of other local officials who either played a role in controlling the disorders, or had knowledge of the events that took place. For some major disorders, the Commission also heard testimony from federal officials, from governors, from other state officials, and from state law enforcement officers.

This testimony was not confined solely to what happened. In prepared statements and during questioning by the Commission, these officials also explained their understanding of the basic causes of the disorders, and their recommendations for future action.

In attempting to gain an understanding of the forces that gave rise to the disorders, the Commission heard testimony from ghetto residents, from civil rights leaders, from noted authors, from reporters, from sociologists, historians, psychologists, economists, and from a wide range of federal, state and local officials involved in the problems of our cities, our poor, and our minority groups.

Because of the extreme importance of measures relating to the prevention and control of disorders, the Commission heard testimony from officials of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from army officers with responsibility for riot control operations, from National Guard officers who commanded control forces, and from a wide variety of police officials and academic experts in police-community relations.

The Commission heard extensive testimony to provide the background for its program recommendations. In these various fields -- employment, education, housing, welfare, youth programs, urban problems -- the Commission heard testimony from Cabinet officials, from other federal officials, from business and labor leaders, from ghetto residents, from state and local officials. from civil rights leaders, and from university experts.

In total, during 20 days of hearings from August to November, over 130 persons appeared as witnesses before the Commission. The transcript of these hearings -- which totaled over 3,900 pages -- was digested and fully indexed so that it could serve as a continuing source of information for the Commission, staff, consultants, and advisers.

A list of the witnesses appearing before the Commission is found in Appendix E.

In addition to the hearings, the Commissioners themselves visited some eight cities that had suffered serious disorders. During these visits the Commissioners met with and interviewed ghetto residents and black militants, as well as public officials. Tours were conducted of areas that had experienced disorders.

The second phase of the Commission's work consisted of a series of meetings held from December through February of 1968 for the purpose of discussing the results of the field surveys and other investigations, reviewing preliminary drafts of sections of the report, and discussing and formulating proposed recommendations.

In addition to these general meetings attended by the Commission and key staff members, individual Commissioners participated in preparation of the report by exchanging information with the staff, by furnishing data on particular subjects under review, and by generally furnishing advice and guidance to the staff effort.

In sum, during the period from July 29, 1967, to March 1, 1968, the Commission met for a total of 44 days, not including the trips taken to the riot cities.

The Staff

The pressures of time and the need to study a representative sample of the riot cities led the Commission to recruit rapidly a staff of over 90 professionals, including qualified personnel, both professional and clerical, detailed to the Commission by federal agencies.

As the Commission's work shifted into its second phase, and as the investigative and analytical work neared completion, the staff was reduced in number to approximately 45 professionals.

Shortly after the appointment of the Commission, the President appointed David Ginsburg, a Washington attorney, as Executive Director, to direct the staff effort. He was assisted by the Deputy Executive Director, Victor H. Palmieri, a Los Angeles attorney and businessman.

Merle M. McCurdy, on leave of absence as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, served as the General Counsel for the Commission. He and his staff furnished legal advice to the Commission, arranged for and conducted the Commission hearings and conducted depositions as part of the investigative efforts.

Stephen Kurzman, a Washington attorney, supervised the field surveys conducted by the Commission, and the analysis of the data collected by these surveys.

Staff efforts in the various substantive and analytical areas of the Commission's work were directed by a number of experts. Dr. Robert Shellow, a social psychologist with the National Institute of Mental Health, directed portions of the analytical effort conducted by the staff. The staff work concem1ng police and public safety was the responsibility of Arnold Sagalyn, former Director of the Office of Law Enforcement Coordination for the Treasury Department, on leave of absence as a consultant on public safety for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Robert Conot, author and journalist, directed the work of the staff in preparing the riot profiles. Milan C. Miskovsky, on leave as Assistant General Counsel of the Department of Treasury, served as Director of Investigations. Staff work in the development of social and economic program recommendations was directed by Dr. Richard Nathan, an economist and associate of the Brookings Institute, and Dr. Anthony Downs, economist.

The Commission also relied heavily on the talents of the consultants and advisers named in Appendix F. They included experts on all facets of the problems studied by the Commission, 1ncluding leading scholars, police and other law enforcement officials, a variety of experts from local, state, and federal government agencies, and specialists from private research firms. Some of these experts prepared drafts of chapters of the report, submitted papers, or conducted studies especially for the Commission.

Commission Investigative Efforts

The Commission undertook three major field research programs.

The primary investigative effort consisted of field surveys conducted in 23 cities. After consultation with staff researchers, the Commission concluded that within the short time period available, a national perspective could best be obtained by an intensive study of a representative group of cities that experienced some sort of disorder in 1967. Disturbances that took place in over 150 cities were initially ranked on the basis of the degree of violence and damage, the duration of the violent action, the number of active participants, and the level of law enforcement response. From this list, Commission researchers selected for field investigation:

• nine cities which experienced major destruction.

• three cities where the disorders occurred in university settings.

• a chain of six New Jersey cities surrounding Newark.

• five cities which experienced lesser degrees of violence.

For each of the 23 cities, the staff first collected and reviewed existing written material on the disorders -- FBI and Department of Justice reports, reports prepared by other government agencies, and newspaper accounts. This review was supplemented by oral briefings from those with special knowledge of one or more of the 23 cities.

Over a period of several months, investigative teams of six staff members were dispatched to 20 of the 23 cities. (Investigation of the three university disturbances was contracted to & nonprofit corporation.) In each city, subteams of two staff members interviewed persons from the official sector (mayors, city officials, policemen and police officials, judges, and others), the disorder area (residents, leaders of community groups) and the private sector (businessmen, labor and community leaders). In order to increase uniformity of the investigative effort, each six-man team was dispatched to a number of cities.

During the city visits, team members interviewed over 1,200 persons. All interviews followed, to the fullest extent possible, questionnaires developed by staff members working in the various substantive areas studied by the Commission.

After completion of interviews in a city, team members returned to Washington to dictate reports of their interviews. Team members were also fully debriefed by oral questioning by staff members.

A draft report was prepared synthesizing the team interviews for each city. Follow-up visits to a number of cities were conducted to obtain additional information.

The field investigative effort thus produced information in two areas: first, Chronology of each disorder, beginning with the events leading to the outbreak, through the development in its various stages, to the resolution and aftermath; second, the factors responsible for the tension leading to disorder, including grievances in the Negro community, and the responses of officials. A national perspective, as well as evidence of specific events, was obtained.

The second major investigative effort went into the development of the riot profiles, a detailed study of nine disorders. This study focused on an identification and classification of the key actors and critical points in the disorders. It took advantage of all the material developed by the field surveys, but also conducted independent investigations.

To ensure absolute accuracy each riot profile was thoroughly reviewed by the General Counsel and his staff. All statements that were not substantiated by sworn testimony, or by well-known facts, were isolated, and potential verifying witnesses identified.

Attorneys from the General Counsel's staff subpoenaed these witnesses for depositions, and in a series of city visits, obtained nearly 1,500 pages of sworn testimony from 90 witnesses to validate all material assertions in the Riot Profiles.

The third major investigative effort sought to determine to what extent, if any, there was planning or organization in the riots. The methodology of this investigation is set out in the Chapter on Organized Activity and Incitement to Violence. Depositions and interviews conducted in connection with the General Counsel's Office augmented this investigation.

A number of other specialized studies were conducted during preparation of the report, or have been contracted to outside consultants for later completion. These studies include, for example, an analysis of three disorders that took place in university settings, a comprehensive study of riot arrestees in over 20 disturbances occurring over the past three years, and a computer examination of the effectiveness of police-community relations programs.

In addition,the Commission has undertaken two major surveys of Negro and white attitudes with the aid of the Ford Foundation. The first, a survey of white and Negro attitudes in 15 major cities and four suburban areas is being conducted by the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan. The second, under the direction of Professors Peter Rossi and James Coleman, Johns Hopkins University, is a continuation of the Commission's field effort --a special survey of attitudes of community leaders, elected officials, administrators, policemen on the beat and teachers. The Commission is deeply indebted to the Ford Foundation for its assistance and support.

Analytical Studies

To describe and explain the disorders and to identify operative factors during the period of disorder, the data collected and compiled by field investigators were analyzed by staff social scientists and consultants. The analysis concentrated on collective behavior, leadership structures, the bargaining process operating in the disorders, and the causative factors of the disorders. Detailed analyses of selected cities, and a comprehensive analysis of all disorders studies, were prepared.

The data obtained from the field investigations were further analyzed by the staff and consultants in preparing the chapter on Patterns of Disorder. Results obtained from a special survey based on probability samples of residents in Detroit and Newark augmented this analysis. A methodology for this survey is set out in the chapter.

In cooperation with the Bureau of the Census, the staff developed socio-economic profiles for each of the 23 cities studied by the Commission. Primarily based upon 1960 Census information, these profiles included statistics on total population, age distribution, education, size of households, income, employment, type of employment, and housing. Separate information on white and non-white population was developed for the city studied, the standard metropolitan statistical area containing the city, and the census tracts within the city where the disturbance took place. For three cities, similar data were also compiled for a "poverty area." Whenever possible, Census data was updated by more recent information.

Program Studies

The remaining staff and consultant efforts focused on the major substantive problem areas delineated in the President's charge to the Commission.

The chapter on the police and the community was the product of a Joint effort of the staff and a large number of consultants and advisers. Initially, a number of academic experts, including many who had served as staff members, consultants or advisers to the Crime Commission, submitted original papers analyzing a variety of problems In police-community relations.

The chapter on control of disorder contains a distillation of some of the extensive material In the control supplement, but with special emphasis on the means by which police -- and public officials -- can control incidents or disorders In their early stages. A summary of the Methodology is contained in a footnote to the chapter.

For the control chapter and supplement, the basic data on police departments were obtained from a survey of 28 city and two state police departments [1] conducted for the Commission by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The survey information, which was obtained from interviews conducted by experienced police personnel, was analyzed by the IACP staff, and a report prepared assessing the state of preparedness and control capabilities of these police departments. The survey and report also covered police-community relations programs and training, information on policy guidelines, and data on Negro personnel in police departments.

A two-day conference attended by police officials from several leading departments was held for the purpose of reviewing the lessons learned by police as a result of recent disorders. A National Guard Commander also participated in discussions relating to police-Guard coordination and operations. A transcript of the conference was prepared to permit full review of the proceedings.

The basic sources of data on the National Guard were: After Action Reports from a number of cities where Guard troops aided in control of disorders; the report on Detroit prepared by Presidential emissary Cyrus R. Vance; extensive information on the National Guard furnished by the National Guard Bureau and the Department of the Army; information from Commission investigations, analyses, riot profiles, and hearings; and information furnished by consultants and advisers.

In August of 1967, the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives established a special subcommittee to inquire Into the capability of the National Guard to cope with civil disturbances. The report and hearings of this subcommittee served as a valuable source of information on the Guard.

An experienced Guard commander, who also served as a police commissioner, was retained as a consultant on National Guard matters. He, assisted by the staff, reviewed the information from the above sources, and submitted a report based upon this information and his own experience.

Information about the Army was primarily supplied by the Department of Defense. Additional Information was obtained from the Vance report on Detroit, and from Commission hearings.

Information concerning fire department problems, and suggested recommendations, were primarily obtained from reports prepared by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and by the Chief of the New York Fire Department. Additional information was obtained from reports prepared by fire department observers at several disorders.

Reports were prepared for the Commission by the Public Administration service (PAS) of Chicago, Illinois, (an organization that also developed Information on coordination of police services for the Crime Commission) on intracity and interjurisdictional coordinated planning at a horizontal level. In preparing these reports, PAS used information from the IACP survey of police departments as well as from its own resources. The Department of Justice furnished Information concerning federal-state planning.

Information on youth groups was obtained from the Commission field investigations, and from a study prepared for the Commission by the Administration of Justice Unit of the University Research Corporation.

Basic Information for the section on legal needs was obtained from the IACP survey, from a report prepared for the Commission by the National League of Cities, Washington, D.C., and from the Department of Justice studies. Information from Commission investigations and hearings was also relied upon.

Staff members prepared the initial drafts of the public safety sections using the above Information. All or selected parts of these drafts were then submitted to a number of advisers for critical comment In order to ensure not only accuracy, but also full coverage of the subjects under Investigation.

The methodology for the media chapter, Including the special study of television broadcasting and newspaper stories of the riots, is described in the chapter itself.

Preparation of the remaining portions of Parts II and III of the report drew on the resources of the Commission, the staff, consultants, and advisers. Preliminary drafts were generally prepared based on outlines approved by the Commission and on readily available Information. As the drafts progressed through the many revisions leading to a final product, data from the field investigations, hearings and special studies were gradually Incorporated. Drafts were circulated among Commission members, other staff members, and consultants for comment. Advisers submitted new ideas and Information, and critical commentary. Also at this stage new data received from a variety of outside studies concerning the disorders were fed into the drafts. Finally, after thorough review and reworking by the members of the Commission, who spent 24 days in full Commission meetings reviewing, discussing and revising the drafts, the final versions were completed.

In addition to the foregoing, two special advisory panels were formed by the Commission. On August 10, 1967, the Commission, after consulting with the President, appointed a separate and expert group, the National Advisory Panel on Insurance in Riot Affected Areas, to deal with the insurance problems of urban core residents and businessmen.

The report of the Panel, "Meeting the Insurance Crisis of our Cities," was separately published in January 1968.

A second panel, the Advisory Panel on Private Enterprise, was formed under the chairmanship of Commissioner Thornton. The primary purpose of the Panel was "to assist the Commission and staff in formulating recommendations for increasing employment opportunities." The members of the Panel included leading businessmen and academic experts. The full text of the Panel's report is attached as Appendix II.

_______________

Notes:

1. Atlanta, Ga.; Baltimore, Md.; Boston, Mass.; Buffalo, N. Y.; Chicago, Ill.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Hartford, Conn.; Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Kansas; Los Angeles, Calif.; Louisville, Ky.; Memphis, Tenn.; Newark, N. J.; New Haven, Conn.; New Orleans, La.; New York, N.Y:; Oakland, Calif.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Pittsburgh. Pa.; St. Louis, Mo.; San Francisco. Calif.; Tampa. Florida; Washington, D. C.; Michigan and New Jersey State Police.
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Re: Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

Postby admin » Sat May 07, 2016 10:34 pm

INDEX

(Not Included Here)
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Re: Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

Postby admin » Sun May 08, 2016 3:54 am

Part 1 of 5

Charts

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Re: Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

Postby admin » Sun May 08, 2016 3:56 am

Part 2 of 5

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Re: Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

Postby admin » Sun May 08, 2016 3:58 am

Part 3 of 5

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Re: Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

Postby admin » Sun May 08, 2016 3:59 am

Part 4 of 5

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Re: Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

Postby admin » Sun May 08, 2016 4:01 am

Part 5 of 5

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Re: Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

Postby admin » Sun May 08, 2016 4:06 am

Part 1 of 3

Photographs

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EYEWITNESS TO CRISIS

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A street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of New York

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Fires hoses aimed at demonstrating Negroes.

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One bed for three children in a Detroit ghetto apartment.

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View inside the classroom of a school in an urban ghetto.

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Negroes flee from police after outburst in Detroit slums.

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Michigan's National Guardsmen force rioting Negroes from a burning building with bayonets on Detroit's west side.

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National Guardsmen and state police collar suspected looters along Newark's Springfield Avenue during summer riots.
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Re: Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

Postby admin » Sun May 08, 2016 4:07 am

Part 2 of 3

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National Guardsman and Detroit resident share a doorway.

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Paratrooper and youngster waiting for the Detroit curfew.

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A reporter seeks a statement from a woman badly wounded during the second night of rioting in Newark, New Jersey.

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Three looters reach through the grating of a liquor store.

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Here employees sit guard after a window has been smashed.

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Looters carry as much as they can during the Detroit riot.

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Teenagers are booked at police station for alleged looting.

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Detroit citizens as they are marched to the police station.
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Re: Report of the National Advisory (Kerner Report 1967)

Postby admin » Sun May 08, 2016 4:08 am

Part 3 of 3

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A suspected looter awaits legal action in Detroit jail.

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National Guardsmen search homes in Plainfield, New Jersey, for carbines and ammunition stolen from an arms maker.

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National Guardsmen search homes in Plainfield, New Jersey, for carbines and ammunition stolen from an arms maker.

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The inside of a Plainfield home after National Guardsmen and the state police have finished their search for arms.

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National Guard troops watch armored tank along Newark's streets during third night of violence in summer 1967,

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Negroes among the charred ruins of their home in Detroit.

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Negro children in New Haven talk with police officer at the Neighborhood Center for Police Community Relations. The first such organization to be established in the riot-affected city, it demonstrated hope for new cooperation.

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BLACK SOUL / BLACK SOUL BROTHER / BLACK / SOUL

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THE COMPLETE TEXT

THE FACT BEHIND THE SHAME OF OUR CITIES, THE CRISIS OF OUR NATION!

The horror of Watts was the first shattering revelation about America's racial crisis -- and a grim prelude to the future. The summer of 1967 -- in Newark, Detroit, Cleveland and across the nation -- revealed the bitter, deep-rooted dissension in our cities, the result of over 300 years of inequities.

THE U.S. RIOT COMMISSION REPORT

On July 29, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed a special commission of distinguished Americans under Governor Otto Kerner of Illinois to search for the roots of the rising militancy in our country -- and the widening gap between white and Negro Americans. Now, after seven months of painstaking investigation, here are the dramatic answers. Here are the causes of and remedies for the smoldering violence in America today.
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