President Barack Obama, in his first public statement about the three days of protests in Charlotte, North Carolina, called during a television interview for "peaceful" solutions to the nation's policing issues.
"The way we change the system requires to be able to reach out and engage the broader American community and that requires being peaceful, that requires being thoughtful about what are the specific reforms you're looking for," the president told ABC's "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts Thursday during an exclusive interview recorded at the new Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture.
"[The] overwhelming majority of people who have been concerned about police-community relations [are] doing it the right way," Obama told Roberts, reports ABC News in a preview of the interview, conducted along with First Lady Michelle Obama and to air in full on the early morning program Friday.
"Every once in a while you see folks doing it the wrong way."
Obama said there is a difference between the peaceful protesters in Charlotte and the few who have become violent following the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott, who was killed earlier this week by a black police officer.
He continued that he also thinks that it's important to "separate out the pervasive sense of frustration among a lot of African-Americans about shootings of people and the sense that justice is not always color blind."
Obama has spoken by phone to Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, both to offer condolences for those mourning and to offer federal assistance if it's needed, according to the White House.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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