Obama on Black Lives Matter: “We As a Society, Particularly Given Our History, Have to Take This Seriously”
by Courtney Connley

October 23, 2015

Obama on Black Lives Matter: “We As a Society, Particularly Given Our History, Have to Take This Seriously”

At a White House event held Thursday on criminal justice reform, President Obama opened up about his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement and why the intentions of the activists are not to undermine the fact that all lives matter.

“I think the reason that the organizers use the phrase Black Lives Matter was not because they were suggesting nobody else’s  lives matter, rather what they were suggesting is that there is a specific problem that is happening in the African American community that’s not happening in other communities,” said President Obama. “And that is a legitimate issue that we’ve got to address.”

[RELATED: Global Leaders to Address Issues of ‘Black Lives Matter’ at Summit]

During the event, which was moderated by The Marshall Project, POTUS explained how everybody understands all lives matter and everybody wants strong, effective law enforcement and safe environments for their kids. He added that while some African Americans are treated unfairly in particular jurisdictions, we should recognize the fact that “an overwhelming majority of law enforcement is doing the right thing and wants to do the right thing.”

“But having said all that, we as a society; particularly given our history, have to take this seriously,” he added. “The African American community is not just making this up.”

Check Obama’s remarks on the Black Lives Matter movement in the video below.


×