President Obama on Monday defended the “noise” and “discomfort” that the Black Lives Matter movement is making about race relations in America, and said group is still a force for good.
“Sometimes progress is a little uncomfortable,” Obama told NPR’s Steve Inskeep, arguing that systemic racism still exists in both the justice system and law enforcement.
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“[T]he criminal justice system applies equally to everybody, that’s been an issue in the African-American community, and to some degree in the Latino community, for decades. There’s no black family that hasn’t had a conversation around the kitchen table about driving while black and being profiled or being stopped,” Obama said when asked about Black Lives Matter.
Though racism as an issue to address is “uncomfortable,” it is one that deserves more “sunlight” applied to it.
“You know, during that process there’s going to be some noise and some discomfort, but I am absolutely confident that over the long term, it leads to a fair, more just, healthier America,” he said.
Obama, a former community organizer himself, also touched on recent protests that have broken out at college campuses nationwide, saying students have to be able to have an open dialogue with other students.
“I think it’s a healthy thing for young people to be engaged and to question authority and to ask why this instead of that, to ask tough questions about social justice,” he said, adding, “So I don’t want to discourage kids from doing that. My concern is not whether there is campus activism. I think that’s a good thing. But let kids ask questions and let universities respond.”
Obama, the country’s first black president, has taken some heat for not doing enough to deal with race relations. A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found only 34 percent of Americans view race relations in the country as fairly good or very good.
