President Barack Obama says the widespread mistrust of law enforcement is having a corrosive effect on the nation, and particularly its children. The fatal police shootings of unarmed black men occur in too many communities. He blames the feeling of wariness on persistent racial disparities in the administration of justice.
Obama said these misgivings only serve to harm communities that are most in need of effective law enforcement.
"It makes folks who are victimized by crime and need strong policing reluctant to go to the police because they may not trust them," he said Saturday night in an address at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual awards dinner.
"And the worst part of it is it scars the hearts of our children," Obama said, adding that it leads some youngsters to unnecessarily fear people who do not look like them and others to constantly feel under suspicion no matter what they do.
"That is not the society we want," he said. "It's not the society that our children deserve."
Obama addressed the Aug. 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown carefully but firmly, saying his death and the raw emotion it produced had reawakened the country to the fact that "a gulf of mistrust" exists between residents and police in too many communities.
The shooting sparked days of violent protests and racial unrest in the predominantly black St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. The police officer who shot Brown was white.
"Too many young men of color feel targeted by law enforcement - guilty of walking while black or driving while black, judged by stereotypes that fuel fear and resentment and hopelessness," said Obama, who has spoken of enduring similar treatment as a younger man.
He said significant racial disparities remain in the enforcement of law, from drug sentencing to application of the death penalty, and that a majority of Americans think the justice system treats people of different races unequally.
Obama opened his remarks by praising Attorney General Eric Holder as a great friend and faithful public servant.
The president announced Holder's resignation this week after nearly six years as the nation's chief law enforcement officer. Holder attended the dinner and received a standing ovation. He will stay on the job until the Senate confirms a successor.
"We will miss him badly," Obama said.
Holder visited Ferguson after the shooting to help ease tensions, and the Justice Department is investigating whether Brown's civil rights were violated.
There was more gun violence Saturday night in Ferguson when a police officer investigating suspicious activity at a closed community center was shot in the arm. The wounded officer is expected to survive and the police were looking for two suspects early Sunday.
Authorities said they didn't believe the shooting was related to demonstrations that were taking place at about the same time to protest the killing of Brown.
At the dinner, Obama also announced the addition of a "community challenge" to My Brother's Keeper, a public-private partnership he launched earlier this year to help improve the lives of young minority men. Communities across the U.S. will be challenged to adopt strategies to help all young people succeed from the cradle through college and to a career.
Obama said government cannot play the primary role in the lives of children but it "can bring folks together" to make a difference for them.
Helping girls of color deal with inequality is also important, he said, and part of the continuing mission of the White House Council on Women and Girls. The effort has involved his wife, Michelle, the mother of their 13- and 16-year-old daughters.
Obama noted that black girls are more likely than their white peers to be suspended, jailed and physically harassed, and that black women struggle daily with "biases that perpetuate oppressive standards for how they're supposed to look and how they're supposed to act."
"I've got a vested interest in making sure that our daughters have the same opportunities as boys do," he said.
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Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
Comments
Obama Says Mistrust of Law Enforcement Corrosive on Nation
Like the article "Diverse Police Departments needed but lacking" there seems to be a need for more minorities in the police department. There is so much energy put on a white police officer shooting a black person. Is that really the issue? Yes that is what took place. Would the emphasis be the same if it were a black officer that shot a black man? Do we just add fuel to the fire? There are people and issues that are definitely racial, but do we need to create more? We need answers, are we pointing fingers? When something like 911 happens we all as a nation no matter our color seem to be able to come together to morn, rebuild and do whatever else is needed. So why then is something so little in comparison being throw out there by our President in such a way?
As in the "Diverse Police Departments Needed but Lacking" this article shows a need for more black, and Hispanic police officers. As Obama states there is a need to reeducate the public as a whole on what the law forces are about, and who they defend. We need law enforcement, and we commit a huge crime to our population as whole if we don’t correct this. The law is there to protect all of us, and if we don’t have them what will happen then? Mistakes will be made, as in every field, to exaggerate the issue to create a divide is wrong. Our president is supposed to unite us. We need to stand behind our law officials and help strengthen their cause.
This article shows the need for more police officers and more diversity. Amongst the ones already employed. It’s obvious by some of the things that have taken place recently Ferguson for example. No one can make people become police officers. I guess the problem comes down to not just reaching out to those communities which we need to employ some of their own race, and or ethnic backgrounds, but we need to make the position rewarding enough that some of those people will have the desire to pursue this field..
Bottom line again, you can’t hire someone if there is no one to hire, you can’t hire just to hire, so we can start to address the problem, or continue to contribute to it.
It’s easy for people to stand by and complain. How did we get here? How do we change this situation? What are our first steps? What is the outcome we want? Is it really just racial, or is there so much more to address?
Unity of people no matter the race.
This article makes me angry. The president seems to focus on negative. What happen to WE THE PEOPLE? Why is there so much emphasis put on negative. Where are the answers? Where is the unity of people working together. Isn't that what the president is suppose to do? Keep our nation strong, NOT divide it.