Two Societies

Regarded as one of the most important works on race in America, the Kerner Report examined the terrible rioting that occurred in 1967 and concluded that it was a reaction to decades of pervasive discrimination and to the “two societies, one Black, one white—separate and unequal” that existed in the country.

Two Societies: The Rioting of 1967 and the Writing of the Kerner Report studies this rioting and examines how this 600-page report was written in only seven months and unanimously adopted by a committee of both Republicans and Democrats. Designed so that each chapter can serve as stand-alone account of some aspect about the report, its development, or the rioting, Two Societies also looks into why the rioting seemed to suddenly stop after Martin Luther King’s assassination, it assesses to what extent progress has been made at eliminating the “two societies” that the report warned about, and it compares 1967’s rioting to the disorders that occurred after George Floyd’s death in 2020. Given that so many of the subjects that the Kerner Report addressed (unequal economic opportunities, controversial police incidents, a lack of understanding about the existence and impact of racism, etc.) are identical to those that we struggle with today, Two Societies will not only be of interest to those who study or participate in the public decision-making process but also those who want to know what happened then and what is happening now.

Rick Loessberg has written the most interesting and thorough analysis of the Kerner Commission Report and its impact that I have read. He provides background information and insights that I never knew about—and I was on the staff of the Commission.

-- John Koskinen, Special Assistant to Kerner Commission Deputy Executive Director

Few government reports have been as influential as that produced by the Kerner Commission and no one knows more about the Commission than Rick Loessberg. This thoughtful book, the product of more than a decade of research, offers a fresh new perspective on the Commission and its significance. Loessberg not only sheds light on race relations in the 1960s, he helps us to understand the many challenges the nation still confronts in providing equal opportunity to all Americans.

-- Steven M. Gillon, Author of Separate and Unequal

Rick Loessberg’s academically solid, well researched, and highly informative book, Two Societies, is an excellent assessment of the Kerner Commission’s operations, findings, recommendations, and impact.

-- Fred Harris, Kerner Commission Member and Former U.S. Senator

The 1968 Kerner Report was the most profound and prophetic policy paper ever produced in this nation. Rick Loessberg is the consummate student and translator of the same. Both the report and Two Societies make it plain that Black masses in this country are still chief among the last and the least.

-- John Wiley Price, Texas Commissioner

Responsible and clearly written, Two Societies confronts the central, tragically enduring question of the chasm between the Kerner Report’s findings, recommendations, and impacts.

-- Gary T. Marx, Kerner Commission Sociologist

In tracing the story behind one of the most controversial presidential commission reports ever written, Rick Loessberg has made a highly valuable contribution to the literature on the federal government’s response to racism in the United States.

-- David Chambers, Special Assistant to Kerner Commission Executive Director

Rick Loessberg has previously written numerous articles on the Kerner Report and conducted an oral history interview of Kerner Commission member Fred Harris for the LBJ Presidential Library. He also has had a more than thirty-year career working for or with local, state, and federal government and administering many of the types of programs that the Kerner Report recommended.

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