Is America Repeating the Mistakes of 1968?

With fixed bayonets, troops of a unit of First Armored Division deploy at 65th and Cottage Grove in Chicago, April 8, 1968. Troops were summoned after rioting developed in some areas of Chicago. (AP Photo)

With fixed bayonets, troops of a unit of First Armored Division deploy at 65th and Cottage Grove in Chicago, April 8, 1968. Troops were summoned after rioting developed in some areas of Chicago. (AP Photo)

By Julian E. Zelizer, The Atlantic

In 1968, the American government ignored a powerful report that addressed institutional racism and the creation of two unequal societies, one black, one white. Instead, “the government focused on building a massive carceral state, militarizing police forces, criminalizing small offenses, and living through repeated moments of racial conflict exploding into violence.”

Now, with increased racial tensions and the election of a new president, will America make the same mistakes?

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