Trailer | The Riot Report

(chattering on police radio) Let me have your attention, please.

There will be a curfew starting at 11:00.

You had Newark, you had Detroit.

You had cities all across the country up in flames.

You see, the real problem with violence, is that we have never been violent.

We have been too nonviolent.

Since Newark and Detroit, law and order have become obsessions on Capitol Hill.

I think America must see riots do not develop out of thin air.

This was a national crisis.

Johnson's being faced with the pressure to do something.

Creating a presidential commission was, for Johnson, the best option.

I want you to be vice-chairman, and I don't want you thinking about it; I just want you to say "Yes, sir."

Yes, sir.

The president said to me, I want you to remember you're a Johnson man.

If you forget it, I'll cut your blank off.

He did not say blank.

The Kerner Commission do an extraordinary field investigation.

We sent our teams to 23 cities.

There were mountains of material that we had to go through.

It was an eye-opener.

It really put faces on these problems.

They suggested all sorts of measures to promote police community relations, a massive structural transformation.

A form of guaranteed annual income.

2 million new jobs in government and private business.

Every time you appoint one of these committees, you get more than you can do anything about.

He refused to accept a copy.

He refused to thank the commissioners.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment.

There is this problem.

Let's not sweep it under the rug.

This is the first time you had the government saying these problems are systemic.

And it has remained this vitally important document that has retained its relevance.

Johnson said, find the truth, and express it in your report.

That's what we did.