Note: This activity requires knowledge from Activity 6.

Instruct students to independently read the Excerpt of President Johnson’s Statement on the Riots in Watts and the Introduction to the Kerner Commission Report. Then in small groups have students discuss the following questions:

• According to the report, what was the fundamental cause of the violence? Does this conclusion surprise you?
• What additional conditions in the mid-1960s set the stage for the rebellions?
• What was the role of the media? How was it similar to or different from what Johnson said about the media? 
• Who were the main victims of the rebellions? Who does the report suggest will be the victims next time?
• How was the tone and message of this passage different from the tone and message of Johnson’s speech?