On Wednesday, former President Barack Obama stood up for the widespread protests that have exploded across the country during a virtual town hall addressing “systemic racism” in U.S. law enforcement.
Obama: ‘Just remember this country was founded on protest’
“Just remember this country was founded on protest,” Obama said. “It’s called the American Revolution, and every step of progress of this country. Every expansion of freedom, every expression of our deepest ideals has been won through efforts that has made the status quo uncomfortable.”
Obama Defends Protesters: 'This Country Was Founded on Protest' https://t.co/Mfqb04jGkK pic.twitter.com/Bv3mGzVOiq
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Obama said the current protests were just another example of how America continues to pay for the “original sin of our society” going all the way back to slavery.
“They are the result of a long history of slavery, Jim Crow, institutionalized racism that have too often have been the plague of the original sin of our society,” the former president said.
Obama’s support message to all protestors:
“America was founded on protests, it’s called ‘The American Revolution; you have the power to make things better!” #BlackLivesMatter #Obama
President Obama pic.twitter.com/iqzoUWhqh6
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Obama Says Just a ‘Tiny Minority’ are Committing the Violence
Obama said just a “tiny minority” was committing violence and was disappointed that troublemakers were getting the most attention. He also said Americans who debate the effectiveness of voting versus protesting were missing the point, and that America needed both.
“I have been hearing a little bit of chatter on the internet about voting versus protest,” Obama continued. “Politics and participation versus civil disobedience and direct action. This is not either/or. This is both/and to bring about real change.”
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Obama’s closing thoughts: "This country was founded on protest. It is called the American Revolution. Every step of progress in this country, every expansion of freedom, every expression of our deepest ideals, has been won through efforts that made the status quo uncomfortable."
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) June 3, 2020
Obama says of the protests ‘let’s use this to finally have an impact’
The 90-minute virtual town hall included Obama discussing his own community policing task force during his tenure in the White House, and encouraged America’s mayors to do more to address police brutality and corruption within their departments.
He urged quick changes.
“At some point, attention moves away, protest starts to dwindle in size and it is important for us to take the momentum that has been created as a society and as a country to say, let’s use this to finally have an impact,” Obama concluded.