When Reagan Blamed Race Riots On ‘White Racism’

The conservative icon had a very “woke” take on 1960s turmoil

Race riots plagued America throughout the late 1960s. Detroit, Newark, and many other cities were turned into warzones. The violence made Americans think the country was losing its grip. It accelerated white flight and transformed several thriving cities into hellholes. Lyndon B. Johnson appointed a presidential commission in 1967 to examine what caused the riots. The commission–called the Kerner Commission after its chair, then-Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner–blamed “white racism” for black violence and said the only way to solve the problem was more government spending on inner cities.

The Kerner Commission’s conclusions were not universally praised. Steven M. Gillon’s Separate And Unequal: The Kerner Commission and the Unraveling of American Liberalism sheds a light on how the report was received. While nearly all conservatives condemned the findings, there was one notable exception.

Richard Nixon expressed the view of the majority of Middle Americans. Nixon, then running for president, pointed to the commission’s report to show liberals coddle criminals and don’t understand the frustrations of the middle class. “The major weakness of the presidential weakness of the presidential commission is that it, in effect, blames everybody for the riots except the perpetrators of the riots,” Nixon said in a 1968 radio interview. He argued the real answer to riots is force and ‘retaliation against the perpetrators and planners of violence.” 

But another Republican evinced a different attitude toward the report. Then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan also presented himself as a law-and-order politician. But he didn’t dismiss the Kerner Commission’s conclusion that racism was to blame for social disorder. He actually agreed with it. “You and I know that many of today’s problems are the result of the prejudice that has divided mankind from the very beginning,” he told a gathering of California Republicans in March of 1968. He called upon his audience to do more to advance equality in American life. “We can insure equal rights and equal opportunity and equal treatment for all our citizens. We can do this by becoming involved in this great problem,” he added to his conservative audience. Steven M. Gillion characterizes Reagan’s position as surprisingly liberal in tone, even if he didn’t agree with the report’s recommendations of more government programs. 

Reagan’s political genius was his ability to link liberal ideals with conservative policies. He managed to accept the charge of “white racism” and to embrace the goals of the report, while at the same time reaffirming his belief in small government and rejecting nearly all of the report’s recommendations.

Linking liberal ideals with conservative policies encapsulates Reagan. While many of his fans see him as the pinnacle of conservatism, his real mission was to pitch globalism in Middle American style. He wanted a North American union that would open our borders. He amnestied over three million illegal aliens as president. He constantly reiterated his support for both legal and illegal immigrants. He gave a famous speech at Liberty State Park during his 1980 presidential run to emphasize his belief that America is an ideological creation built by immigrants. He welcomed the Mariel boatlift, which delivered thousands of criminals and other undesirables on America’s shore. Naturally, Reagan was a big proponent of refugee resettlement as he felt it demonstrated American greatness, And, despite running on the promise to roll back the civil rights regime, he failed to deliver and even passed the burden for enforcing the regime’s dictates on the private sphere. 

Richard Hanania makes a decent case that Reagan at least tried to roll back the civil rights regime, in contrast to Nixon who expanded it. (Nixon was personally a race realist, but he cared more about his political ambitions than his private opinions.) But that attempt doesn’t compensate for Reagan’s ideological failures. 

Reagan’s endorsement of the Kerner Commission marks one of his lowest points. But it resembles how many Republicans treated the Floyd Riots of 2020. Several Republicans said that violence is bad (an absolute revelation), yet acted like the “peaceful protesters” were demonstrating for a good cause. Mitt Romney marched with them and said “Black Lives Matter.” Current GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson sympathized with the rioters while serving as Arkansas governor. “They’re clearly outraged and frustrated and angered, and that’s understandable and it’s important to hear them out,” he said in 2020. “And part of it is what they see as a criminal justice system that disproportionately goes after minorities.” These Republicans are just following the path paved by Reagan.

Americans hate crime and disorder, but many are programmed to think the criminals and rioters have legitimate grievances. It’s a message hammered into our heads by TV shows, news programs, and movies. It’s why people bought the George Floyd lie and keep falling for hate hoaxes. Unfortunately, many Republican leaders believe the same crap as their liberal opponents–and they have believed the BS for decades. 

Many of our problems are rooted in the changes wrought in the 1960s. The same ideological nonsense that supports Black Lives Matter and open borders today inspired those changes back then. It’s critical for right-wingers to not fall prey to these lies. White racism or systemic racism isn’t to blame for minority dysfunction.