| Kerner Plus 40: |
An assessment of the nation's response to the 1968 report
of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders |
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Kerner Plus 40 Research
Each section of this two-campus symposium will marshal the combined resources of NCAT and Penn, plus other scholars, journalists, civil rights activists, and Kerner experts, to explore these questions and react to the findings of our reporting teams. We will seek to have C-SPAN and/or PBS broadcast these proceedings to a national audience. This joint project is led by Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Africana Studies; Dr. Michael X. Delli Carpini, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication; and DeWayne Wickham, director of the Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies at North Carolina A&T State University. Research Project The research project began with a planning session at the University of Pennsylvania that was attended by the project's executive editors and key personnel from the Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies and the Center for Africana Studies. This phase of the research project is led by the Center for Africana Studies. The second phase of the project consists of research, reporting, and scholarly commentary that will culminate in the production of a report for dissemination at the February symposium, as well as articles and photographs that will be offered to news organizations for publication. This phase of the research project is led by the Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies and the Center for Africana Studies. The Annenberg School for Communication has assisted in the design and management of both phases of this research project. As a central part of this project, teams of journalists were sent to the following cities, which were hit hard by racial disturbances in the 1960s, to measure the progress that has been made in meeting the recommendations of the Kerner Commission: 1. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2. Cambridge, Maryland 3. Birmingham, Alabama 4. Los Angeles (Watts), California 5. Detroit, Michigan 6. Newark, New Jersey 7. Tampa, Florida Using IFAJS's fellowship program as a model, we developed 6 teams of journalists to undertake this research and reporting. The teams developed a report that covers: a) the legacy of the riots that occurred in each city, and b) an analysis of the socioeconomic issues affecting each city. Camille Charles, faculty associate director of the Center for Africana Studies and professor of sociology, is the project's academic editor and has overseen report's scholar commentary. Tonyaa Weathersbee, a columnist for The Florida Times-Union, is the project's news editor and has managed the journalist research teams. This research project has brought together both scholarly and journalistic resources and talents to investigate the legacy of the Kerner Commission Report and to discuss how this nation can effectively address issues of race and inequality in the United States during the 21st century. Project Participants >> |
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