Report Analysis: National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders

Abstract

The Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, initiated by the President after the riots of Summer, 1967, received sustained national attention for its condemnation of white racism as the root cause of civil disorder and for its broad recommendations for government action, including action in the field of education. The Report deserves analysis both as a research document analyzing social processes underlying the present urban crisis, and as a political document recommending programs for change. Richard J. Light,Instructor in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, concentrates on the Report's empirical studies, using them as a basis for analyzing the relationship between research and public policy. The initial section of Mr. Light's essay provides a brief summary of the Report. Robert L. Green, Professor of Educational Psychology at Michigan State University, focuses his attention on the Report's policy recommendations, especially those dealing with education.