Which term refers to a national commission that investigated 1960s urban unrest and identified racial inequality as a root cause?

• A. Shire-Reeve
• B. President's Commission on Law Enforcement
• C. Peel's Nine Principles
• D. Kerner Commission

Answer: (D)

Think about the major inquiry into the causes of urban unrest in the 1960s. The Kerner Commission, formally the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, was created by President Johnson in 1967 to study the riots and their underlying causes. Its key finding was that racial inequality—through segregation, discrimination, and poverty—was a root cause of the unrest and that the nation risked becoming two separate, unequal societies. This makes the Kerner Commission the best answer because it directly identifies racism and inequality as foundational drivers of the riots. The other options refer to unrelated things: Shire-Reeve is a medieval English official; Peel's Nine Principles are policing guidelines from Sir Robert Peel; and the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice looked at policing and justice more broadly, not specifically at racial inequality as the root cause of 1960s unrest.