What the Kerner Commission Said—and Why It Still Matters
In 1968, the United States government conducted one of the most important investigations in its history.
It asked three questions:
What happened?
Why did it happen?
What can be done to prevent it from happening again?
The answers were clear. The warning was direct.
America, the report concluded, was moving toward two separate and unequal societies.
More than fifty years later, that warning still echoes.
1968: The Report That Warned America breaks down the findings of the Kerner Commission and places them in context—what led to the unrest, what the government discovered, and what was never fully addressed.
This is not an academic text.
It is a focused, accessible look at a turning point in American history—and the questions that remain unresolved today.
For readers seeking clarity, context, and a deeper understanding of the forces that continue to shape the country, this book offers a direct path into the conversation.
They call it The People’s House. But when a sitting president—Donald Trump—takes a wrecking ball to a piece of it, just to build himself a ballroom, what he’s really tearing down is the illusion. The illusion that this house belongs to all of us. That our tax dollars, our history, our sacrifices—mean a damn thing when power decides it wants to redecorate.
If this house truly belonged to the people, then there would’ve been a vote. There would’ve been accountability. But no. There was silence. Complicity. A shrug. A nod. The same way there’s silence every time Trump steps over a line and dares the country to stop him.
And now? He’s not just stepping over lines—he’s rewriting the map. Floating the idea of a third term like he’s some emperor reincarnated. So here’s our position, loud and clear:
If Donald Trump is allowed to violate constitutional norms and run again, then we, the Black Panther Party, fully endorse a return of President Barack Obama—with Gavin Newsom as Vice President.
If the rules are being rewritten for tyrants, then they can be rewritten for justice too.
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The People’s House Was Never Truly Ours
Built by enslaved hands, praised as a beacon of democracy while soaked in the sweat and blood of Black labor, the White House has always worn its irony like a crown. It was never neutral ground. From the architecture to the occupants, it’s stood as a monument to a very specific idea of power—white, male, wealthy, and untouchable.
They called it The People’s House to sell a dream. But for centuries, that house had no room for the people who built it. Not in its design, not in its decisions, and sure as hell not in its heart.
Fast forward to now: a president tears through it like it’s a casino he’s flipping in Jersey. A ballroom, of all things—during a time when people are sleeping on sidewalks, rationing insulin, burying hope. It’s not just disrespect. It’s a flex. A reminder that even the most symbolic house in America is still owned and rearranged by the powerful for the powerful.
And here’s the deeper pain—it’s not even shocking anymore. The People’s House being treated like a private estate? That’s America showing us, again, who it was built for.
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It’s Time to Change the Name
But naming is power. Always has been. The name White House was never just about paint—it was a declaration. A subliminal claim of ownership. A visual cue about who the house is for, and who’s forever just visiting. Even when Barack Obama stepped inside as Commander in Chief, some folks still clutched their pearls like he broke in through the back door.
That house has never welcomed us fully. It tolerated us. It displayed us when politically convenient. But it never embraced the Black, the Brown, the Indigenous, the immigrant—the working class, the poor, the displaced. The People’s House? That was the myth. Not the reality.
And when Trump takes a hammer to its bones to build a ballroom? It’s not just about luxury. It’s a signal that his vision of America has no space for restraint, balance, or the voice of the people. Just ego. Just dominance.
And that’s why reclaiming it matters. Not just in name, but in practice. It has to become more than a symbol—it has to serve. It should reflect the actual nation, not the fantasy clung to by the powerful.
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Call to Action: Paint It What It Is
So here’s our call to action:
What color should we paint it?
No, seriously. If it’s truly the People’s House, then it shouldn’t be stuck in one image, one name, one tradition rooted in exclusion. Let it shift. Let it reflect who’s leading, and who they serve. Paint it every administration. Let the walls carry the message of the moment—be it power, peace, protest, or pride.
Pink? Cool. Let it stand. Rainbow? Even better. Black, gold, green, blood red—if it speaks for the people, paint it. It should be uncomfortable sometimes. It should challenge us. That’s the point.
No more White House. We’re not asking. We’re saying it:
It’s the People’s House now. And the people have colors, voices, stories. So let the walls speak too.
You ever seen a grown man cry over a grocery bill?
Monique M:
Twice this week. One of them was a vet. Other one had three kids and a busted radiator. She was asking how to stretch forty-three dollars across thirty days.
JJ:
Forty-three dollars.
Monique M:
That’s the average cut some folks saw this year. Pandemic-era boosts gone. Rent’s up. Eggs are still five bucks a dozen in half the cities I track.
JJ:
You tracking suffering like data?
Monique M:
I’m tracking survival. It’s my job to hand out lifeboats, but they keep shrinking the damn boats.
JJ:
Who’s shrinking them?
Monique M:
Congress. State-level administrators. Budget hawks who’ve never missed a meal. People who say “bootstraps” like it’s gospel. You know the drill.
JJ:
I know the drill. It was pointed at my uncle’s head when he got denied for assistance back in ’99. Said his disability check disqualified him. Said being poor wasn’t poor enough.
Monique M:
We lose staff every month. Burnout. Guilt. Some of us stay because walking away feels worse.
JJ:
So you’re inside the machine that’s grinding your own people.
Monique M:
I’m trying to jam it. I tell folks how to appeal, where the loopholes are, who to call when the office “loses” their paperwork for the third time. But it’s not enough. We need noise. We need backup.
JJ:
Forty-three dollars gone means forty-three meals gone. That’s a missed breakfast before school. That’s hunger making a child mean in class. That’s a mother eating instant noodles so her baby can have fruit.
Monique M:
And if she complains, the world says she’s lazy. Says she’s a leech. Says she should be grateful.
JJ:
Grateful for what?
Monique M:
A system that feeds her kids every other week and starves them in between.
JJ:
We’ve seen this game before. Starve the people. Blame the people. Punish the people for daring to survive.
Monique M:
So what do we do?
JJ:
We speak. We write. We show up. We use this page, this name, this legacy. No more waiting for things to get worse before we call it what it is: war by policy.
Monique M:
And you think that’ll change something?
JJ:
I know it will. It already is. You’re here. You came to speak. That’s how it starts.
Monique M:
Then let this be the start.
JJ:
Let it be the start, and not the end.
Food is a human right. The cuts to SNAP are not “budgeting.” They are violence by pen. This page stands with Monique M, and every worker, parent, elder, and child caught in this cycle. Forty-three dollars is a number. But behind it are names.
By KAI KOHAN and KENT EATON Posted by CRAIG PHILLIPS
Donald J. Trump isn’t just a former president. He’s a living, breathing indictment of everything wrong with American politics, privilege, and power. While his cult-like fanbase shouts about “witch hunts” and “fake news,” the receipts keep piling up—and they ain’t pretty. This isn’t opinion. These are facts. Cold. Verified. Undeniable. So let’s break down exactly who this man is. Not the myth. Not the MAGA. Just the math.
The Numbers Don’t Lie • 64 times he’s mentioned in the Jeffrey Epstein report. • 97 times he pleaded the Fifth (and no, that’s not what innocent people usually do). • 34 felony convictions—and counting. • 91 criminal charges across multiple jurisdictions. • 26 sexual assault allegations. • 6 bankruptcies—because nothing screams “business genius” like tanking your own empire. • 5 draft deferments. That’s how Captain Bone Spurs dodged Vietnam. • 4 criminal indictments. • 2 impeachments. • 2 convicted companies under his control. • 1 fake university shut down for fraud. • 1 fake charity shut down after stealing from veterans and children.
The Price Tag of Corruption • $25 million settlement to victims of Trump University fraud. • $5 million sexual abuse verdict to E. Jean Carroll. • $2 million paid for misusing funds from his so-called charity. • $93 million total in sexual abuse judgments. • $400+ million civil fraud judgment for cooking the books.
Historic Lows, Not Highs
Let’s be clear—Trump wasn’t just a disaster legally. He was a historically awful president by the numbers: • First president in U.S. history to increase the deficit every single year in office. • First to maintain a debt-to-GDP ratio over 100% the entire term. • Oversaw the highest annual budget deficit in history. • Added more to the national debt in one term than any president ever. • Set a record for new unemployment claims during his reign. • Responsible for the largest single-day drop in the Dow Jones. • Lost the popular vote twice—a feat not seen in over 50 years. • Triggered the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, despite his own party controlling Congress. • Only president to maintain a net negative approval rating for his entire term.
A Criminal Presidency • First president impeached twice—and it wasn’t a technicality. • First to face bipartisan votes for conviction—both times. • Holds the record for the most indictments, guilty pleas, and convictions from members of his administration. • Oh, and let’s not forget: the first president in U.S. history to pose for a mug shot.
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So, What Does This All Mean?
It means the man some call “patriot” is actually the biggest con to ever sit in the Oval Office. A walking felony with a spray tan. A chaos merchant wrapped in a red tie and narcissism. His legacy isn’t greatness. It’s grift, abuse, and a trail of wreckage from Manhattan to Mar-a-Lago.
You can’t drain the swamp if you are the goddamn swamp.
The truth is out there. And it’s orange. Don’t let history get rewritten by Fox News and fanboys. Bookmark this. Share this. Shout it from the rooftops.
America deserves better. The world demands it.
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Written by KAI KOHAN and KENT EATON Posted by CRAIG PHILLIPS for TheBlackPanthersParty.com
Here we go again people! Today we need you to know about Darius Tarver.
He had just suffered a serious head injury from a near-fatal car accident. He needed medical attention. Instead, Denton, TX police shot and killed him. It’s heartbreaking and infuriating.
Darius was confused and seriously injured. He was trying to unscrew the lights in his apartment, but he broke them. His neighbors called the police – who then killed him.
Darius had a bright future ahead of him. He was on the dean’s list at UNT and set to graduate in the spring with a criminal justice major.
He should’ve received help from a mental health care professional. Instead, he was met with violence.
It took weeks of demands from Darius’s father, Kevin Tarver, and community leaders for the Denton Police Department to release footage of the incident.
It’s now clear that the Denton PD tased and shot him while he was standing completely still. They missed multiple opportunities to safely arrest him.
The four officers must get fired and charged for Darius’s murder. An independent special prosecutor must investigate the case. And the Department of Justice must fulfill the promise to launch a federal investigation.
