John Wiley Price to Discuss Explosive Kerner Report on Race Riots 50 Years After Its Release

The well-known proverb "The more things change, the more they remain the same" could be a summary statement about race relations in America today.Anyone who reads highlights of the famous and infamous 1968 National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, better known as the Kerner Commission Report, surely must agree.This year marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark report, and leaders and scholars again are debating its truthfulness and assessing its impact on society then and now. Some discussions have concluded that the 50-year-old report still reads like a 2018 description of modern political and social reality.Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price will weigh in on the subject at a breakfast at 10 a.m. April 21 at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, at Canton and Akard streets in downtown Dallas. Price also will share his experiences of that era, a time when he first moved to Dallas from his hometown of Forney just out of high school and became politically involved. Tickets are $15 and available by calling 214-743-2400 or 800-745-3000.Former President Lyndon Johnson set up the politically diverse,11-member Kerner Commission, plus an appointed director, to study what caused a deadly and costly outbreak of race riots in many urban cities in 1967 and recommend how to prevent others. The commission included an urban city governor, an urban city mayor, two black leaders, a labor leader, a police chief, a female political leader, a business leader, a senators and congressmen from both parties.The commission released its seven-month, 426-page study in February 1968, setting off a firestorm of disagreement between conservatives and liberals about its conclusions — namely that the riots were caused by institutional racism that prevented equal opportunities — a conclusion never before set forth by an official body. Two key statements from the report were widely repeated:(1) "Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white — separate and unequal."(2) "The press has too long basked in a white world looking out of it, if at all, with white men's eyes and white perspective."To read the report in depth, search online for National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, Kerner Commission.ABOUT TOWN: Dallas will take part in National Jazz Appreciation Month in April by sponsoring several events promoting the history and heritage of jazz as a "national and world treasure." Sammons Center for the Arts is helping to coordinate activities with Dallas arts groups. A free concert and open house will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Moody Performance Hall, 2530 Flora St. in the Dallas Arts District. Other activities during the Moody event will include an awards program for local jazz musicians, and jazz souvenirs to the public.Also, the free North Texas premiere of the film We Knew What We Had: The Greatest Jazz Story Never Told, followed by a Q&A and reception, will be at 4 p.m. April 28 at Angelika Film Center Dallas, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane. Participating musicians include Sandra Kaye, Roger Boykin Trio and the Kelly Durbin Quartet. To learn more, visit D'JAM on Facebook or www.jazzdallas.com.The American Diabetes Association and local partners are presenting a free diabetes community conference from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Nash-Davis Recreation Center, 3710 N. Hampton Road in West Dallas. English- and Spanish-speaking specialists will discuss living with diabetes. Light refreshments will be available.  Continue reading...