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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 11 OctOber 2017

Last Kerner Commission member haunted, hopeful on race in US

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS times play out in clashes of Massachusetts, only Har- moved out and so did him.
Associated Press with police, as seen re- ris remains. high-playing employment Nonetheless, the report,
CORRALES, N.M. (AP) — cently in St. Louis, Baltimore The late President Lyn- opportunities. released March 1, 1968,
Nearly 50 years after the became a best seller and
Kerner Commission studied a classic study on poverty
the causes of deadly riots and racial inequality in the
in America’s cities, its last U.S.
surviving member says he Eric Tang, an African and
remains haunted that its African Diaspora Studies
recommendations on U.S. professor at the University
race relations and poverty of Texas, said that before
were never adopted. the Kerner Commission re-
But former U.S. Sen. Fred port, no government docu-
Harris of Oklahoma also ment had explicitly named
said he’s hopeful those institutional, systemic rac-
ideas will be embraced ism as an underlying cause
one day, and he’s encour- of black unrest in the U.S.
aged by Black Lives Matter “These issues haven’t gone
and other social move- away, because many of
ments. the key recommendations
In an interview with The As- weren’t implemented,”
sociated Press, the 86-year- Tang said.
old Harris said he still feels After President Richard Nix-
strongly that poverty and on took office, the focus
structural racism enflame shifted to increased polic-
racial tensions, even as ing in cities and confining
the United States becomes In this July 15, 1967 photo, a National Guard officer passes the smashed window of a black- the poverty there, Tang
more diverse. owned flower shop in riot-torn Newark, N.J. The last surviving member of the Kerner Commission, said.
“Today, there are more Former U.S. Sen. Fred Harris, says he remains haunted that the panel’s recommendations on US In recent years, high-pro-
people in America who race relation and poverty were never adopted, but he is hopeful they will be one day. file police shootings of un-
are poor — both in num- (AP Photo) armed black and Latino
bers and greater percent- and Charlotte, North Caro- don Johnson created the “Over and over, we were men have sparked mul-
age,” Harris told the AP lina. 11-member commission told, ‘we want jobs, baby,’ tiple urban racial conflicts,
from his home in Corrales, Only by getting the gener- in 1967 as Detroit was en- Harris said. protests and calls for police
New Mexico. al population concerned gulfed in a raging riot. The panel concluded that reforms.
“And poor people today about racial disparity, Five days of violence the nation should spend Last year, then-San Fran-
are poorer than they were poor housing and proper would leave 33 blacks billions revitalizing strug- cisco 49ers quarterback
then. It’s harder to get out job training will the United and 10 whites dead, and gling cities, improving po- Colin Kaepernick began
of poverty.” States finally tackle the un- more than 1,400 buildings lice relations and ending taking a knee during the
The nation’s poverty rate derlying causes of the ur- burned. More than 7,000 housing and job discrimi- National Anthem before
was 14.2 percent in 1967 ban riots of the 1960s and people were arrested. nation. football games to pro-
compared to 14 percent the police-minority tensions During the summer, more But amid the Vietnam War test the shooting of black
last year, according to the of today, Harris said. than 150 cases of civil un- and anti-war protest, John- men by police. Other NFL
U.S. Census. “We can help people to rest erupted across the son refused to meet with players joined, prompting
And despite five decades see that we didn’t solve United States. the commission. President Donald Trump to
of civil rights and voting these problems,” Harris With other commission Johnson concluded the re- declare that any football
rights advancements, cities said. “ members, Harris toured port would “ruin” him and player who continued to
and schools “have re-seg- No, they are still with us, riot-torn cities and inter- that commission members do so should be fired.
regated,” Harris said. He and in some ways, poverty viewed black and Latino didn’t give his “Great So- Ronnie Dunn, an Urban
cited recent federal data is worse.” residents and white police ciety” programs enough Studies professor at Cleve-
that showed the number Of the Kerner Commis- officers. credit, Harris said. land State University, said
of poor schools with mainly sion’s members, who in- Harris and his colleagues “That was false,” Harris since many of the issues
Latino and black students cluded former Illinois Gov. soon discovered that as said, arguing that the re- remain around racial in-
more than doubled from Otto Kerner, New York black residents from the port gave Johnson credit equality, the Kerner Com-
2001 to 2014. Mayor John Lindsay and South moved into urban for tackling poverty and mission “could have well
The resulting tensions some- U.S. Sen. Edward W. Brooke centers, white residents wasn’t aimed at hurting been written in 2017.”q