Friday, May 29, 2020

Deja vu all over again


@BrandingBrandi reminds that in 1968, operating under presidential mandate, the Kerner Commission was given the task of explaining civil unrest in the nation's cities.

[THREAD] Rereading the Kerner Report that was released after an exploration of the root causes of civil unrest that had occured in the late 60s. A few things stand out: “Disorder did not erupt as a result of a single ‘triggering’ or ‘precipitating’ incident.”

“Instead it was generated out of an increasingly disturbed social atmostphere, in which typically a series of tension-heightening incidents over a period of weeks or months became linked in the minds of many in the Negro community with a reservoir of underlying grievances...”

“Although specific grievances varied from city to city, at least 12 deeply held grievances can be identified and ranked into three levels of relative intensity...

First level intensity:
1. Police practices
2. Unemployment and underemployment
3. Inadequate housing

Second level intensity:
4. Inadequate education
5. Poor recreation facilities and programs
6. Ineffectiveness of the political structure and grievance mechanisms

Third level intensity:
7. Disrespectful white attitudes
8. Discriminatory administration of justice
9. Inadequacy of federal programs
10. Inadequacy of municipal services
11. Discriminatory consumer and credit practices
12. Inadequate welfare programs”

Like we knew all this in 1968 & NONE of it was remedied. This is why our history travels in a loop instead of line moving towards the beauty of progress. Sending thoughts & visions of a better world to everyone today.

Nothing much has changed for too many. Let us weep, resist, and all seek to break the deadly loop.

No comments: