After a week of protests across the country in the wake of the acquittal of George Zimmerman, President Obama told his advisers Thursday evening that he would address the matter from the White House briefing room the next day. It was not a press conference or a formal occasion. Obama walked into the room, almost surprising reporters, who scrambled to their seats. He made a couple of jokes, spoke of issues that would be dealt with in coming weeks, then, using handwritten notes, spoke on the Trayvon Martin case, and on race, more expansively in more personal terms than he had since his “More Perfect Union” speech on race from Philadelphia, when he was campaigning for president in 2008.
“I don’t want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African American community interprets what happened one night in Florida. And it’s inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear,” Obama said, subtly countering a recurrent backlash against marchers and protesters from critics isolating the case from history or claiming that marchers and media are paying ist aftermath undue attention.
“And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there’s a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it’s important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn’t go away,” he continued, broaching his remarks’ most personal note–a note disproportionately more familiar to most blacks, and almost foreign to whites.
“There are very few African American men in this country who haven’t had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store,” the president said. “That includes me. There are very few African American men who haven’t had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me — at least before I was a senator. There are very few African Americans who haven’t had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often.”
In one of the legally more pointed parts of the speech, Obama, speaking in an quiet tone that understated the implication of his remarks, directly criticized Florida’s and similar Stand Your Ground law in other states and turned the tables on its invocation, applying it to Trayvon Martin: “I know that there’s been commentary about the fact that the ‘stand your ground’ laws in Florida were not used as a defense in the case.” he said. “On the other hand, if we’re sending a message as a society in our communities that someone who is armed potentially has the right to use those firearms even if there’s a way for them to exit from a situation, is that really going to be contributing to the kind of peace and security and order that we’d like to see? And for those who resist that idea that we should think about something like these “stand your ground” laws, I’d just ask people to consider, if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened? And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, then it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws.”
But he ended the speech on a hopeful note: “As difficult and challenging as this whole episode has been for a lot of people, I don’t want us to lose sight that things are getting better. Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race. It doesn’t mean we’re in a post-racial society. It doesn’t mean that racism is eliminated. But when I talk to Malia and Sasha, and I listen to their friends and I seem them interact, they’re better than we are — they’re better than we were — on these issues. And that’s true in every community that I’ve visited all across the country.”
It was notable that Obama ended the remarks with almost the very same words that had opened his speech on race in Philadelphia in 2008–“that along this long, difficult journey, we’re becoming a more perfect union — not a perfect union, but a more perfect union.”
Civil rights leaders applauded the speech. Some voices were critical, among them Tavis Smiley, the radio talk show host, who said the president was “leading from behind.”
The full speech and video are below.
President Obama: Trayvon Martin Could Have Been Me
I wanted to come out here, first of all, to tell you that Jay is prepared for all your questions and is very much looking forward to the session. The second thing is I want to let you know that over the next couple of weeks, there’s going to obviously be a whole range of issues — immigration, economics, et cetera — we’ll try to arrange a fuller press conference to address your questions.
The reason I actually wanted to come out today is not to take questions, but to speak to an issue that obviously has gotten a lot of attention over the course of the last week — the issue of the Trayvon Martin ruling. I gave a preliminary statement right after the ruling on Sunday. But watching the debate over the course of the last week, I thought it might be useful for me to expand on my thoughts a little bit.
First of all, I want to make sure that, once again, I send my thoughts and prayers, as well as Michelle’s, to the family of Trayvon Martin, and to remark on the incredible grace and dignity with which they’ve dealt with the entire situation. I can only imagine what they’re going through, and it’s remarkable how they’ve handled it.
The second thing I want to say is to reiterate what I said on Sunday, which is there’s going to be a lot of arguments about the legal issues in the case — I’ll let all the legal analysts and talking heads address those issues. The judge conducted the trial in a professional manner. The prosecution and the defense made their arguments. The juries were properly instructed that in a case such as this reasonable doubt was relevant, and they rendered a verdict. And once the jury has spoken, that’s how our system works. But I did want to just talk a little bit about context and how people have responded to it and how people are feeling.
You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there’s a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it’s important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn’t go away.
There are very few African American men in this country who haven’t had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me. There are very few African American men who haven’t had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me — at least before I was a senator. There are very few African Americans who haven’t had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often.
And I don’t want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African American community interprets what happened one night in Florida. And it’s inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear. The African American community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws — everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws. And that ends up having an impact in terms of how people interpret the case.
Now, this isn’t to say that the African American community is naïve about the fact that African American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system; that they’re disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence. It’s not to make excuses for that fact — although black folks do interpret the reasons for that in a historical context. They understand that some of the violence that takes place in poor black neighborhoods around the country is born out of a very violent past in this country, and that the poverty and dysfunction that we see in those communities can be traced to a very difficult history.
And so the fact that sometimes that’s unacknowledged adds to the frustration. And the fact that a lot of African American boys are painted with a broad brush and the excuse is given, well, there are these statistics out there that show that African American boys are more violent — using that as an excuse to then see sons treated differently causes pain.
I think the African American community is also not naïve in understanding that, statistically, somebody like Trayvon Martin was statistically more likely to be shot by a peer than he was by somebody else. So folks understand the challenges that exist for African American boys. But they get frustrated, I think, if they feel that there’s no context for it and that context is being denied. And that all contributes I think to a sense that if a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario, that, from top to bottom, both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different.
Now, the question for me at least, and I think for a lot of folks, is where do we take this? How do we learn some lessons from this and move in a positive direction? I think it’s understandable that there have been demonstrations and vigils and protests, and some of that stuff is just going to have to work its way through, as long as it remains nonviolent. If I see any violence, then I will remind folks that that dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family. But beyond protests or vigils, the question is, are there some concrete things that we might be able to do.
I know that Eric Holder is reviewing what happened down there, but I think it’s important for people to have some clear expectations here. Traditionally, these are issues of state and local government, the criminal code. And law enforcement is traditionally done at the state and local levels, not at the federal levels.
That doesn’t mean, though, that as a nation we can’t do some things that I think would be productive. So let me just give a couple of specifics that I’m still bouncing around with my staff, so we’re not rolling out some five-point plan, but some areas where I think all of us could potentially focus.
Number one, precisely because law enforcement is often determined at the state and local level, I think it would be productive for the Justice Department, governors, mayors to work with law enforcement about training at the state and local levels in order to reduce the kind of mistrust in the system that sometimes currently exists.
When I was in Illinois, I passed racial profiling legislation, and it actually did just two simple things. One, it collected data on traffic stops and the race of the person who was stopped. But the other thing was it resourced us training police departments across the state on how to think about potential racial bias and ways to further professionalize what they were doing.
And initially, the police departments across the state were resistant, but actually they came to recognize that if it was done in a fair, straightforward way that it would allow them to do their jobs better and communities would have more confidence in them and, in turn, be more helpful in applying the law. And obviously, law enforcement has got a very tough job.
So that’s one area where I think there are a lot of resources and best practices that could be brought to bear if state and local governments are receptive. And I think a lot of them would be. And let’s figure out are there ways for us to push out that kind of training.
Along the same lines, I think it would be useful for us to examine some state and local laws to see if it — if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of altercations and confrontations and tragedies that we saw in the Florida case, rather than diffuse potential altercations.
I know that there’s been commentary about the fact that the “stand your ground” laws in Florida were not used as a defense in the case. On the other hand, if we’re sending a message as a society in our communities that someone who is armed potentially has the right to use those firearms even if there’s a way for them to exit from a situation, is that really going to be contributing to the kind of peace and security and order that we’d like to see?
And for those who resist that idea that we should think about something like these “stand your ground” laws, I’d just ask people to consider, if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened? And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, then it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws.
Number three — and this is a long-term project — we need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and reinforce our African American boys. And this is something that Michelle and I talk a lot about. There are a lot of kids out there who need help who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement. And is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?
I’m not naïve about the prospects of some grand, new federal program. I’m not sure that that’s what we’re talking about here. But I do recognize that as President, I’ve got some convening power, and there are a lot of good programs that are being done across the country on this front. And for us to be able to gather together business leaders and local elected officials and clergy and celebrities and athletes, and figure out how are we doing a better job helping young African American men feel that they’re a full part of this society and that they’ve got pathways and avenues to succeed — I think that would be a pretty good outcome from what was obviously a tragic situation. And we’re going to spend some time working on that and thinking about that.
And then, finally, I think it’s going to be important for all of us to do some soul-searching. There has been talk about should we convene a conversation on race. I haven’t seen that be particularly productive when politicians try to organize conversations. They end up being stilted and politicized, and folks are locked into the positions they already have. On the other hand, in families and churches and workplaces, there’s the possibility that people are a little bit more honest, and at least you ask yourself your own questions about, am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can? Am I judging people as much as I can, based on not the color of their skin, but the content of their character? That would, I think, be an appropriate exercise in the wake of this tragedy.
And let me just leave you with a final thought that, as difficult and challenging as this whole episode has been for a lot of people, I don’t want us to lose sight that things are getting better. Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race. It doesn’t mean we’re in a post-racial society. It doesn’t mean that racism is eliminated. But when I talk to Malia and Sasha, and I listen to their friends and I seem them interact, they’re better than we are — they’re better than we were — on these issues. And that’s true in every community that I’ve visited all across the country.
And so we have to be vigilant and we have to work on these issues. And those of us in authority should be doing everything we can to encourage the better angels of our nature, as opposed to using these episodes to heighten divisions. But we should also have confidence that kids these days, I think, have more sense than we did back then, and certainly more than our parents did or our grandparents did; and that along this long, difficult journey, we’re becoming a more perfect union — not a perfect union, but a more perfect union.
Thank you, guys.
[Start 1:33 P.M., end 1:52 P.M. EDT]
O.M.G. says
Yes he sure could have been Our POT smoking anti establishment President.. Did not know he was a prowler though. One who walks between houses in a development were he did not live on a cold rainy night.!
A.S.F. says
You know Trayvon’s father lives in that development, don’t you? I mean, I know it’s probably hard for you to believe that someone of African American descent could be successful enough to live a gated development, let alone that a Black man could deserve to be elected President–twice. I’ll tell you what–the next time we find someone who happens to be White having the temerity to walk in a gated communtiy where they don’t happen to live, but might be visiting someone who does, we’ll just feel free to shoot first and ask questions later. How does that sound?
Sherry Epley says
Great words and feelings, from a great President!
Magnolia says
Final thought? I doubt it. He can’t get past it.
Anita says
No one can get past it because the mindset reflected in many posts on this blog are the same ones that label an unarmed murdered youngster a “thug” and sanction a jury of whites and one hispanic to feel comfortable about setting the man who killed him free. How does anyone with a heart and a conscience
get past that?
A.S.F. says
A very intelligent and restrained speech by our President but I fear that some people on one end of the spectrum will feel he is being too radical and upsetting their applecart while others on the oppostie end of the spectrum will feel he is saying too little, too late. There must be a place inbetween where we can all live comfortably and get along (most of us, anyway.)
Florida Native says
Obama is setting the black race and race relations back 100 years.
Geezer says
Mitt Romney would have set back whites 200 years.
Biased says
Why doesn’t the President show the same respect to a white person who has their life to the hands of a black person? This was not a matter the President should have ever gotten involved in. He and the media are doing everything they can to try to promote violence. This all should have come to an end when the jury spoke!
The Truth says
Promote violence? You mean like a neighborhood watch person taking the law into their own hands and following an un-armed person/teenager?
Anita says
Tell me, did you complain when President Obama openly wept over the slain children in Connecticut, also? Did he forfeit his First Amendment rights when he won the election? Apparently, he didn’t get the memo. And as for your prediction of violence, if it was going to happen it would have. Black folks, white folks and any other color of folks have the right to peacefully protest a verdict they disagree with.
Forest G says
President Obama making this speech reminds me of the movie Bruce almighty. President in power thinks he can bring justice by making a speech to a population of unsatisfied people with the outcome of a case that was judicated already. The real issue is isnt racial its the criminal element intimidating lawabiding people putting them in such fear that they feel they have to carry guns to equalize violent situations to protect themselfs. If white people were profiling blacks and killing them they would kill without provacation. Getting beat up and near death and defending ones self is not profiling its self defense. Americans should be aware of racial prejudice but dont lump every white crakah as racist. I could give a crap what color someone is if there trying to kill me i will defend myself.
Anita says
When you refer to a “criminal element” in your post, you are clearly ignoring the white criminal element and focusing solely on blacks. Not profiling? Not racial? What then, is your definition of racial? Zimmerman never saw a white stranger behaving in a suspicious manner, only blacks. Zimmerman did kill an unarmed kid without provocation (Stay in your car! Don’t follow!), and just as you choose to ignore events in the news depicting murderous whites, George Zimmerman saw only blacks as criminals and we have only his word for what really happened.
m&m says
Obama is just lip service. No substance and no interest..
Mr.mondex says
I mean now the president is involved???? Give me a break!! Wow!!! Biased is 100% right this is just getting totally ridiculous anymore pretty soon it will be. Al sharpton,jessie Jackson & pres.obama, on that racial freight train every time they don’t get there way !!!!!
Outsider says
Just what we need; more hot air from the windbag. I guess he’ll consider this hard enough work to justify yet another trip to the Vineyard this summer, where, by the way, there’s nobody on that island who even looks like Trayvon Martin.
Cypress Grand says
Question: What if your skin was black and you had a child or teenager? Would you be concerned? Some people are so lacking in compassion and cannot see past the tip of our nose. I always say, never judge anyone until you have walked in their shoes!
NortonSmitty says
Can’t you people see how you’re all being played here? Forget the trial of this one tragic but insignificant case here and look at how the power-serving media are using this case to beat both sides of the same drum to turn one American against the other. And distract us all away from the important fact that all of us are getting screwed over every day by our Government supported system of crony capitalism bleeding us all for the benefit of the Wall Street Crime Syndicate.
On the supposed Left side, we are told that despite the verdict, justice was not served. This Fascist wannabe busybody shitstain of a human being killed an innocent 17 year old boy he didn’t have to, just because he could show what a stud he was and get away with it. And our legal system decided he deserved absolutely no penalty for it. And that gets a lot of our people angry. Justifiably in my opinion.
And on the Right Fox News and the Right-Wing feeds you the story that Drug using thug can walk through your yard and if you ask what he is doing he will beat you to death! And if you fight for your life with whatever gun that God gave you, the Libbrals will call you a racist! You should be so outraged!
And they both beat their Talking Points into your head 24/7 like this singular tragedy affecting these two familys is the Most Important Thing in the History of The World! Whichever of these two, AND ONLY THESE TWO, stories you believe, YOU SHOULD BE SO OUTRAGED!!
Bullshit! While this inconsequential, but exiting, story has hogged the entire news cycle the last few weeks, important things that used to be called news have been squeezed out of our minds. Things that will negatively impact all of us on both sides of this fake issue. Like:
1- The NSA and the Dep’t of Fatherland Security is listening to every phone call and email we make.
2- The Federal reserve is planning on printing another few billion dollars (Quantitative Easing) out of thin air to prp up the big banks, but will eventually cause hyper-inflation and destroy our savings after the Multi-National Banks and Big Boys have sucked this country dry.
3- Bank of America agreed to pay $4.5 Million last week, but not admit that it fraudulently foreclosed on $4.5 BILLION worth of peoples mortgages!
4.- The US is secretly negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which will finish asset-stripping our American manufacturing capabilities. It’s been called NAFTA on steroids, and gives Corporations more rights that sovereign governments and eliminate Buy American as well as environmental and product safety laws between the signers. So we will have the same laws on Baby Formula as the Phillipines or our tax dollars will compensate the wronged corporation if we say no. Google it yourself, or here:http://www.salon.com/2012/10/23/everything_you_wanted_to_know_about_the_trans_pacific_partnership/
And us sheep keep biting on the bullshit. When are we going to realize that at 9:00 every night we have the choice of watching Shaun Hannity or Rachael Maddow, and both of them work for the same damn team, and people, it ain’t us.
I could go on and on, But I gotta’ go. I’m making popcorn for the coverage coming up for the Jody Arians sentencing trial. Jefferson would be so proud!
NortonSmitty says
Oh, yea. One more thing you aren’t hearing about on the Glass Teat TV:
5.- The Israeli’s bombed a Russian cargo ship in Syria (Anyone remember Syria the last week or so?) delivering anti-ship missiles to Assad. And the entire Russian Military is at their equivalent of our DEFCON2, one step below war. Who they gonna’ attack, us or Israel? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169879#.Ue1fMT8iKzf and http://guardianlv.com/2013/07/russian-military-on-alert-after-suspected-israeli-airstrike-destroys-russian-missiles-in-syria/
Jim R. says
When Obama was campaigning for Pres. he said he would revisit NAFTA, well he did and liked it so much he will sign the TPP. This new so called free trade agreement is all Norton Smitty says, and even worse. If Obama gave a shit about black people he would be doing something about poverty and jobs, instead he makes heartfelt speeches about this case that is a great example of political theatre and group-think.
It was a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened , but the jury reached a verdict and it should be respected.
As Thomas More said in a man for all seasons. ” I would give the devil benefit of the law for my own safetys sake” . The black community and leaders demanded Z be arrested and tried for murder, they got a trial, what else can be done?
Jack Stewart says
Could have been him 35 years ago…..who’s he kidding…..he lived in Hawaii ..and went to private schools…and all his friends were either native Hawaiians or white….what a joke…but liberals keep lapping up every lie he spews forth….no longer god bless America….it’s God help America !
Magnolia says
Compassion is a beautiful word. I’ll bet dollars to donuts that most people can’t describe what it means. I am most definitely not a fan of our great leader. He struggles with his own demons and that hurts the nation. But I am hearing some honesty from him for the very first time. At least he is facing those demons instead of heading to the golf course. He does not handle responsibility well.
Constitutional expert? I think that’s a farce, just as he has difficulty representing ALL people in this country. Tough to do when you basically DON’T LIKE the country and those demons are chasing you.
We’ve done a lot of thinking about this, haven’t we? Despite how we feel about all this, that’s a good thing.
Compassion. What does that word mean to you?
A.S.F. says
Compassion: Being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and feel their their pain. You do not appear to have an appreciation for what African Americans are feeling at this point (our President being only one person among that group.) So, while I agree with you that compassion is a beautiful word, your argument winding around it strikes me as somewhat bizarre. I don’t know what demons you are referring to, in relationship to Barack Obama, but, if he has them, I would guess that you would be among those who would not understand them in the least. You seem to suggest that Obama is somehow really our enemy when you state that he “basically (doesn’t)…like the country.” Is that a hint of the old his-middle-name-is-Hussein-so he-must-be-a-secret-member-of-the-Muslim-Brotherhood fantasy that I keep hearing about from other commentators here? If you feel that he doesn’t represent you, as a White person, just think of how African Americans have been feeling throughout their entire tenure here in the United States, with every presdent before Barack Obama being as White as snow.,,,So, right back at you–Compassion.
Magnolia says
Compassion is a beautiful word. I’ll bet dollars to donuts that most people can’t describe what it means. I am most definitely not a fan of our great leader. He struggles with his own demons and that hurts the nation. But I am hearing some honesty from him for the very first time. At least he is facing those demons instead of heading to the golf course. He does not handle responsibility well.
Constitutional expert? I think that’s a farce, just as he has difficulty representing ALL people in this country. Tough to do when you basically DON’T LIKE the country and those demons are chasing you.
We’ve done a lot of thinking about this, haven’t we? Despite how we feel about all this, that’s a good thing.
What does Compassion mean to you? To have Compassion, you must also be able to Forgive.
DLF says
What a bunch of BS, if I has a son it would have been Travon, Travon was me 35 years ago, a thief, a bully, doper and want be gang guy, shows how smart we are we elected him.
Jean says
President Obama CO-SPONSORED the “Stand Your Ground” bill in Illinois (SB2386), which became law in 2004.
Outsider says
Congratulations Norton! And I thought I was the only one paying attention. Now if you can get all those overly excited about their seventh Obama phone to pay attention, we might get some real change. Unfortunately, they don’t don’t notice Obama is now so flexible that Putin is twisting him into a very soft pretzel.
A.S.F. says
So, let’s have a seance and conjure up Ronald Reagan’s ghost. Like the promised second coming, I am sure that he can save us (along with the Lone Ranger and any Republican snake oil salesman who can convincingly hawk passages from the Bible mingled with choice tidbits from Ayn Rand.)
Sherry Epley says
Not to confuse any Fox News lover with actual facts. . . this from Media Matters:
“the bill Obama supported, Illinois’s 2004 SB2386, was “substantively different” from Stand Your Ground laws:
“Stand your ground” is substantively different than what Obama backed in Illinois. He backed a tweak to the “castle doctrine,” which reads like this.
A person is justified in the use of force against another when and to the extent that he reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to prevent or terminate such other’s trespass on or other tortious or criminal interference with her real property (other than a dwelling) or personal property, lawfully in his possession or in the possession of another who is a member of his immediate family or household or of a person whose property he has a legal duty to protect.
“Stand your ground” takes the concept of the castle doctrine and turns it into a traveling force field of sorts. Here’s Florida’s language:
A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
It should also be noted that Florida enacted the first Stand Your Ground law in 2005, a year after the Illinois bill in question had passed”.