A report updating the findings of the 1968 Kerner Commission report
concludes that “the rich are getting richer, the poor and working class
are getting poorer, and minorities are suffering disproportionately….
A class and racial breach is widening again as we begin the new
millennium.”
Officially known as the National Advisory Commission on Civil
Disorders, the Kerner Commission, on March 1, 1968, released its famous
report with the dire warning that, “Our nation is moving toward two
societies, one Black, one White — separate and unequal.”
Thirty years later, the Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation has
released The Millennium Breach, which reports that the “Kerner
Commission’s prophecy has largely come to pass.”
The Eisenhower Foundation report, released March 2, says that with
a prosperous economy and a projected federal budget surplus, Americans
can act to close the breach between rich and poor. Existing solutions
shown to be effective that are described in the report include: job
training linked to placement in jobs that rebuild inner-city
infrastructure; community-based banking; Head Start pre-schools; “safe
havens” that offer adult guidance during afterschool hours; and
“problem-oriented community equity policing” to mentor youth and secure
neighborhoods. The report also calls for investments in initiatives
that have already been proven to work.
Based in Washington, D.C., the Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation is
devoted to continuing the work of the Kerner Commission and the
National Commission on Causes and Prevention of Violence. Scholars
contributing to The Millennium Breach include Dr. William Julius Wilson
and Roger Wilkins.
For more information about the report, please call (202) 429-0440.
COPYRIGHT 1998 Cox, Matthews & Associates
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
