There are always a number of stories involved in any group report. The 700-page Kerner Report, which sought to explain the causes of the rioting that had occurred in 1967, is no exception. Some of these stories have been previously discussed in other works. However, given the magnitude of the Kerner Commission’s assignment, it is not surprising that many of its stories have not yet been told. One such example is the story behind the writing of the report’s Chapter 9 that concluded that the black and European immigrant experiences were not comparable. Not originally contemplated, the chapter’s need surfaced only about a month before the Commission completed its work. How it came to be, how one of the nation’s foremost sociologists became involved, and how it helped the Commission keep its breakneck pace is what one former staff member calls a “fascinating backstory” and further increases our knowledge of the Commission.
DallekR. (1998). Flawed giant: Lyndon Johnson and his times. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
11.
EdwardsG. F. (1965). Communities and class realities: The ordeal of change. In TalcottP.ClarkK. B. (Eds.), The Negro American. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, pp. 280-302.
12.
FerdinandK. (2016). Exploring the American dream in action through Horatio Jr. Alger’s Ragged Dick. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, 4(6), 75-84.
13.
GansH. J. (1967a, October27). Letter to Charles Thornton. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders Collection (File: Herbert J. Gans, Series 50, Box 2). LBJ Library, Austin, TX.
14.
GansH. J. (1967b, December4). Letter to Victor Palmieri. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders Collection (File: Herbert J. Gans, Series 50, Box 2). LBJ Library, Austin, TX.
15.
GansH. J. (1967c, October6). Testimony before the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (NACCD). NACCD Collection (File: Hearings, Series 49, Box 1). LBJ Library, Austin, TX.
16.
GansH. J. (1968a, January24). Escaping from poverty: A comparison of the immigrant and negro experience. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders Collection (File: Herbert J. Gans, Series 50, Box 2). LBJ Library, Austin, TX.
17.
GansH. J. (1968b, January25). Letter to Victor Palmieri. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders Collection (File: Herbert J. Gans, Series 50, Box 2). LBJ Library, Austin, TX.
18.
GansH. J. (1969, September22). Letter to Andrew (Andy) Kopkind (Herbert Gans Papers, 1944-2004, Box 39). Columbia University, New York, NY.
19.
GansH. J. (1982). The urban villagers. New York, NY: Macmillan.
20.
GansH. J. (1991). People, plans, and policies. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
HershbergT.YanceyW. L.EricsonE. P.GreenbergS.BursteinA. N. (1981). A tale of three cities. In HershbergT. (Ed.), Philadelphia: Work, space, family, and group experience in the nineteenth century. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, pp. 461-491.
37.
HofstadterR. (1955). The age of reform. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
LipskyM.OlsonD. J. (1977). Commission politics: The processing of racial crisis in America. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
43.
LoessbergR. (2017). Two societies: The writing of the summary of the report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. Journal of urban history. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/009614421689087
44.
LoessbergR.KoskinenJ. (2018). Measuring the distance: The legacy of the Kerner report. Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 4(6), 99-119.
McGrathK. M. (1968, January11). Meeting of commission on long-term programs. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders Collection (File: Notes of Commission Meetings, December7, 8, and 9, Series 47, Box 8). LBJ Library, Austin, TX.
47.
MoynihanD. P. (1965, December16). Letter to Herbert Gans (Herbert Gans Papers, 1944-2004, Box 39). Columbia University, New York, NY.
48.
MoynihanD. P. (1966, January8). Letter to Herbert Gans (Herbert Gans Papers, 1944-2004, Box 39). Columbia University, New York, NY.
RobinsonD. E. (2001). Black nationalism in American politics and thought. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
58.
RossiP. H. (1964). Book review. American Journal of Sociology, 70, 381-382.
59.
ScruggsD. L. (1980). Lyndon Baines Johnson and the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (The Kerner commission): A study of Johnson policy making systems (Doctoral dissertation). University of Oklahoma, USA.
TaeuberK. E.TaeuberA. (1964). The Negro as an immigrant group: Recent trends in racial and ethnic segregation in Chicago. American Journal of Sociology, 69, 374-382.
