President Obama gave an address to the nation Monday night after it was announced there would be no indictment in the shooting death of Michael Brown.
"There are Americans who agree with it and Americans deeply disappointed, even angry," he said of the grand jury's decision. "It's an understandable reaction." Obama asked that people listen to the words of Brown's family, who requested that protestors remain peaceful and honor the life of their son.
Obama said that police officers "put their lives on the line for us every single day," and as Ferguson officers "do their jobs in the coming days, they need to work with the community, not against the community, to distinguish a handful of people who may use the grand jury's decision as an excuse for violence, and distinguish them from the vast majority who just want their voices heard around legitimate issues in terms of how communities and law enforcement interact."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The president added that the situation in Ferguson speaks to "broader challenges that we still face as a nation," and "in too many parts of this country, deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color." There are things that can be done, Obama added, including working on bettering relations between law enforcement and communities and staffing police forces to better match the makeup of the community. "This is not just an issue for Ferguson, this is an issue for America," he said.
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in FijiUnder the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
