American democracy is at an inflection point. Will we stride toward the 22nd century with evidence and will? Or will we lurch fearfully backwards, reinscribing the white supremist domination of the 19th century? After hundreds of urban protests in the 1960s, the presidential Kerner Commission, composed mainly of privileged white men, concluded, "It is time to make good the promise of American democracy to all citizens--urban and rural, white and Black, Spanish surname, American Indian and every minority group." Today it still is time--to reduce racial injustice, economic inequality, and poverty. Since the Kerner Commission, there has been little or no progress in some areas, and in other ways things have gotten worse. Yet the visionaries on these pages are passionate about how the problem is not lack of resources, nor a dearth of knowledge on the economic, education, youth investment, criminal justice, public health, and housing policies that work. Rather, the problem is that America still does not have the "new will" the Kerner Commission concluded was needed to scale up what works. How to create "new will?" We need to identify those who are thwarting majoritarian preferences. Use strengthened voter rights and new messaging techniques to advance Dr. King's economic justice movement based on both class and race. Weave the middle class into the coalition. Know that perfect unity is not necessary for effective collaboration. Better expose the exploitation of Americans by the privileged and the rigged system with its big myth of market fundamentalism. Make clear how that exploitation is smoke-screened by cultural deniers. Build moral language and moral fusion coalitions to revive the heart of democracy and advance a Third Reconstruction. Recover a moral commitment to long-term struggle. Balance outraged intensity with bridge-building persuasion. Don't just preach to the choir--but recognize that the choir is where, to use John Lewis' phrase, good trouble starts. Strengthen the role of nonprofit organizations. Base action on evidence and science, not on ideology, supposition, disinformation, and misinformation. Advocate for how universities can better engage their communities. And create a Harry Belafonte-like infrastructure of hope and empathy through the visual arts, monuments, and the performing arts. Through this book, and through its companion volume--the republication of the original Kerner Report of 1968--we commit to enhancing the movement and healing our divided society. Book Features: Brings together public and private sector decision-makers, seminal thinkers, activists, advocates, students, and commonsense change-oriented scholars to address a broad range of economic, education, youth investment, criminal justice, public health, and housing issues requiring urgent action. Cuts through campaign rhetoric to focus on evidence and science, not on ideology, supposition, disinformation, and misinformation. Examines what we have learned since the Kerner Commission and updates trends in economic, education, police reform, youth development, public health, and housing policies. Identifies what works and what doesn't work. Offers core lessons and takeaways for creating new political will to reduce racial and economic injustice, inequality, and poverty. Contributors: William Barber, Jared Bernstein, Cornell William Brooks, LaTosha Brown, Elliott Currie, Linda Darling-Hammond, Robert Faris, Michael Feuer, John Jackson, Margaret Morton, Janet Murguia, Naomi Oreskes, Claudia Pena, Lisa Rice, Loretta Ross, Richard Rothstein, Anat Shenker-Osorio, Dorothy Stoneman, Michelle Williams, Valerie Wilson, Felicia Wong, Julian Zelizer.

Table of Contents:
Contents Foreword Wes Moore Governor of Maryland Acknowledgments Introduction Alan Curtis President and CEO Eisenhower Foundation PART I: WHAT EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY WORKS? Economic and Employment Policy 1. Should the Federal Government Play a Role in Racial Equity? Of Course Jared Bernstein 2. The New Economics and the Rebalancing of Power Felicia Wong and Matt Hughes 3. Guidez-Faire: Why Capitalism Needs Effective Governance Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway 4. Worker-Centered and Race-Conscious Policy Are Essential for Equity and Economic Justice Valerie Wilson and Adewale Maye Education and Youth Development Policy 5. The Long Quest for Equitable Educational Opportunity Linda Darling-Hammond 6. Building Loving Systems to Create One America for All Children John H. Jackson and Zakiyah Ansari 7. A New Great Society Randi Weingarten 8. Action to Reaffirm: Equity, Racial Justice, and the Future of College Admissions Dwayne Kwaysee Wright and Michael Feuer 9. Act Now! Invest in America’s Youth Dorothy Stoneman and Mary Ellen Sprenkel Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Policy 10. Police Reform: Where Do We Go From Here? Neil Gross 11. Race, Transparency and Policing: Practical Advice From One Pracademic’s Point of View Branville Bard Jr. 12. Two Justice Systems—Separate and Unequal Kim Taylor-Thompson 13. One in Five: Progress and Pushback in Lowering the Lifetime Likelihood of Imprisonment for Young Black Men Nazgol Ghandnoosh 14. Violence in Post-pandemic America: Hard Truths and Enduring Lessons Elliott Currie Housing and Neighborhood Investment Policy 15. Scaling Economic and Housing Justice Lisa Rice, Michael Akinwumi, and Nikitra Bailey 16. What the Kerner Commission Got Wrong and How We Can Get It Right: Remedying Segregation Requires Recognizing Its True Origins Leah Rothstein and Richard Rothstein Public Health Policy 17. An Accidental Public Health Manifesto Michelle A. Williams 18. U.S. Health Care Policy, the Evidence, and the Will for Change: What Will It Take to Transform Decades of Evidence Regarding U.S. Race-and Income-Based Health Disparities to a “Will for Change”? Herbert C. Smitherman Jr., and Anil N. F. Aranha Latino, Native American, and Asian American Policy Perspectives 19. The Power of Stories Janet Murguía 20. E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many, (We Are) One Sindy M. Benavides 21. Kerner Commission Report: 21st-Century Native American Perspective Judith LeBlanc 22. United Against Hate: How Asian America Is Standing Up George Huynh PART II: HOW TO CREATE NEW WILL? Dr. King, Economic Justice and Moral Fusion 23. Reviving the Heart of Democracy Rev. William Barber II 24. An Email and an Epistle for American Democracy Cornell William Brooks Persuasion, Democracy, and Voter Rights 25. Values, Villain, Vision: Messaging to Mobilize Our Base and Persuade the Conflicted Anat Shenker-Osorio 26. A New North Star to Lead Us to a Representative Democracy That Is Just and Equitable for All LaTosha R. Brown 27. Calling In as Compassionate Activism Loretta J. Ross Media, Evidence, and Misinformation 28. When Our “Truth-Tellers” Won’t Tell Us the Truth: Looking Back at the Kerner Commission Report and Ahead to a Transformed Media Landscape Ray Suarez 29. “Little Brother Is Watching Big Brother”: The Flawed Media Lens on Policing and Racism Julian E. Zelizer 30. Race and Media in a Polarized Society Robert Faris 31. A More Evidence Based Policy Agenda Justin Milner The Visual Arts, Monuments, and the Performing Arts 32. Carry History, Hold Truth: Art in the Public Realm Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, Margaret S. Morton, and Lena Sze 33. Healing Toward New Will Claudia Pena 34. Art as Translation Carlton Mackey 35. Regenerating the Body of Culture brooke smiley 36. The Art Will. . . A Musing on Life in the Performing Arts: A Case Study for NEW WILL Lisa Richards Toney Index About the Editors and Contributors