Kerner Commission

Kerner Commission, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 to investigate the causes of the race riots of the mid 1960s. The commission, headed by Gov. Otto Kerner of Ill., put most of the blame on “white racism.” It concluded that the United States was moving toward 2 societies, one black and one white—“separate but unequal.” It suggested improvements in schools and housing and better police protection for residents of black neighborhoods.