Thread by @julianzelizer

In 1968, LBJ's Kerner Commission reported that police officers were not "merely a spark factor" in the 1967 riots, but that in the cities they had come to symbolize "white power, white racism, and white oppression."/1
amazon.com/Kerner-Madison…

The commission, made up of high level establishment figures from the political center, warned of “ominous consequences” if nothing changed./2

The report came out on February 29, 1968. Though the Kerner dropped many radical ideas staffers had proposed, it was still bold for the times./3

LBJ, reeling from the disastrous war in Vietnam, didn’t feel that he could tackle the recommendations. Conservatives were pressuring him to cut the Great Society. He believed the commission was embarrassing him by proposing measures that he could not obtain from Congress./4

On March 31, LBJ shocked the nation by announcing that he would not seek reelection./5

Running as a third party candidate, Alabama Governor George Wallace tried to stir the pot. “The people know the way to stop a riot is to hit someone in the head.” Watch this clip from a documentary about him./6

Richard Nixon figured out how to use “law and order” to capitalize on these tensions. “We have heard the threats to burn and bomb and destroy . . . We must take the warnings with heart and prepare to meet force with force if necessary.”/7
vimeo.com/224660754

In his acceptance speech, Richard Nixon declared: “Working Americans have become the forgotten Americans. In a time when the national rostrums and forums are given over to the shouters and protesters and demonstrators, they have become the silent Americans.”/8

Nixon's arguments won the day. He defeated Hubert Humphrey. Since then, our criminal justice system has perpetuated, rather than eliminated, the problems outlined in the report. The costs have been devastating. “This shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020,” @BarackObama said./9

The criminal justice reform bill of 2018 was not enough./10

We can’t allow the images of violence to overwhelm the basic message of the protesters, most of whom are peaceful. Congress must address the institutional racism at the heart of their message./11

It's about what happened to George Floyd./12 washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05…

Though @realDonaldTrump is playing the Nixonian/Wallace card by capitalizing on the disorder for his own political advantage, this time around elected officials must make sure that we don’t repeat the mistakes of 1968./end

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