Gov. Andy Beshear said on Tuesday that a Simmons College-led initiative to “pick up the mantle” of the 1968 Kerner Commission has his full support.

The Kerner Commission, according to the Smithsonian, reported that “white racism — not black anger — turned the key that unlocked urban American turmoil.”

Simmons College, as part of a partnership with Kentucky State University, announced on June 15 that it would launch the Kerner Commission 2 and seek to implement recommendations from the seminal 1968 report on racial inequality in the U.S.

The original Kerner Commission was tasked with working to understand the root causes of civil unrest and violence that plagued several major cities during the summer of 1967. The report concluded: “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one Black, one white – separate and unequal.”

“Today, 53 years after his call for answers, our nation still is struggling with racial inequity and history continues to replay itself before our very eyes,” the Governor said. “Undoubtedly, progress has been made in civil rights as a nation, but we can’t deny the disparities that still exist for Black people in our great nation and even in our great commonwealth.”

The Governor noted that most of the report’s recommendations went unheeded and that the civil unrest seen in recent months mirrors what happened in 1967. The new Kerner Commission 2.0 soon will name its commissioners and convene as a statewide brain trust to help identify current problems and potential solutions.

“As Governor, I support this work because it’s important,” Gov. Beshear said. “I support it because it’s the right thing to do. I support this work now because it can’t wait.”