NAACP president on Baltimore riots: 'This problem won't be solved with Molotov cocktails'

last updated 28 April 2015

In an interview with CBS This Morning on Tuesday, NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks stressed that violence and riots won't change America's justice system.

"This is not merely one tragedy, but one in a series of tragedies, and there is much to be done that we have to pursue with vigor," Brooks said. "This problem won't be solved with Molotov cocktails. Burning businesses and homes and buildings in your own community is like putting a gun to your own head. And the fact of the matter is that rioting and looting doesn't represent flowers or a sympathy card to a grieving family. We've got to engage in constructive action."

Brooks also had the perfect answer when asked whether Baltimore's mayor should have called in the National Guard sooner. "It is a tragedy that is yet unfolding, and so second-guessing the mayor doesn't do anything to restore these buildings, or to console a grieving family, or to bring about healing to a broken and bruised community," Brooks said. Watch CBS' full interview with Brooks below. —Meghan DeMaria