On Wednesday, former u.S. president Barack Obama, shown here in a file image from 2018, participated in a virtual town hall on police violence. About 400,000 people tuned in live for his remarks. (Jason DeCrow/The Associated Press)
Young people in the United States must capitalize on the momentum they have created through protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death before the attention moves away, former president Barack Obama said in a virtual town hall Wednesday.
Obama made the comments during a panel on police violence organized by the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance during a panel discussion on law enforcement, an initiative he launched to empower young minorities.
“I want to speak directly to the young men and women of colour in this country who … have witnessed too much violence and too much death,” Obama said in his opening remarks.
“And too often, some of that violence has come from folks who were supposed to be serving and protecting you. I want you to know that you matter. I want you to know that your lives matter. That your dreams matter.”
WATCH | Obama discusses how to bring about change:
Former U.S. president Barack Obama addressed a virtual town hall on law enforcement issues Wednesday and called for young people to translate their powerful feelings into positive change. 0:25
The virtual town hall comes on the same day Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison increased the charge against fired officer Derek Chauvin to second-degree murder in Floyd’s death and announced charges against the other three officers who were present, according to reports.
Obama is taking on an increasingly public role as the nation confronts a confluence of historic crises that has exposed deep racial and socioeconomic inequalities in America and reshaped the November election.
‘Immoral economic disparities’
“We’re in a political season, but our country is also at an inflection point,” said Valerie Jarrett, a longtime friend and adviser to Obama. “President Obama is not going to shy away from that dialogue simply because he’s not in office anymore.”
Former Democratic president Jimmy Carter also released a pointed statement on Wednesday on the Carter Center’s website.
“People of power, privilege, and moral conscience must stand up and say ‘no more’ to a racially discriminatory police and justice system, immoral economic disparities between whites and blacks, and government actions that undermine our unified democracy,” his statement said.
“We are responsible for creating a world of peace and equality for ourselves and future generations. We need a government as good as its people, and we are better than this.”