In the summer of 1967, Detroit and several other major cities erupted in uprisings by Black residents protesting police brutality, racial injustice and social and economic disparities. The documentary “The Riot Report” looks at the work of the Kerner Commission, formally known as the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, which President Lyndon Johnson empaneled to investigate the cause of the civil uprisings that erupted, claiming 43 lives during that time.
The documentary airs on Detroit PBS Friday, July 26 at 8 p.m. It was directed by Michelle Ferrari, who also co-wrote and co-produced it with well-known author and journalist, Jelani Cobb. It features a trove of archival material on the commission and interviews with commission staffers, including its sole surviving member Senator Fred Harris. The commission’s final report in 1968 examined race relations in the U.S. and was highly controversial when it was released.
“American Black Journal” host Stephen Henderson sits down with author, journalist and Dean of Columbia Journalism School, Jelani Cobb, to talk about the documentary, which he helped produce and write. The two discuss the importance of looking back at the uprisings and how police brutality was the spark for the rebellions.
They also talk about why the passing of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act just a few years earlier was not enough to quell the rebellions.
Cobb also talks about the Kerner Commission Report and why its recommendations were never implemented, and he highlights the many incidents of police brutality against African Americans that have occurred in recent years that leave us asking the same questions that were asked 57 years ago.
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