The Complete Kerner Report

“The Kerner report, by underscoring the interconnectedness of our social ills, offered an important reminder that we, as Americans, are intertwined. Our separateness is an illusion.” —From the Foreword by Cory Booker, U.S. Senator, New Jersey

This complete edition of the Kerner report includes the full text, as well as important graphs, statistics, and supporting materials.

Given the present-day threats to American democracy, Teachers College Press is publishing the complete version of the groundbreaking federal report with new introductions by U.S. Senator Cory Booker and American historian Elizabeth Hinton.

The subject of “The Riot Report,” a recent episode of the PBS documentary series American Experience, the Kerner Commission report was issued to address the urban riots during the summer of 1967, and to provide suggestions for improving race relations. Contrary to commonly held beliefs that largely blamed young Black men for the riots, this report pointed to a lack of economic opportunity, disastrous social service programs, white racism, police violence, and a biased national media.

This federal report is being reissued to accompany the new book edited by Alan Curtis, Creating Justice in a Multiracial Democracy, in which foremost thought leaders examine what, if any, progress has been made and provide recommendations for policy initiatives.