I want you to know that you matter: Obama’s message to young people of colour
Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised the efforts of demonstrators across the nation, calling their protests following the death of George Floyd “powerful” and “transformative.”
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In his video message Obama sent a message of gratitude to young people of colour, who have “witnessed too much violence and too much death,” and said their activism has been a source of hope for him.
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“I want you to know that you matter. I want you to know that your lives matter, that your dreams matter,” Obama said in a Livestream of a roundtable hosted by My Brother’s Keeper, an organization he launched in 2014, on Wednesday evening.
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“You should be able to learn and make mistakes and live a life of joy without having to worry about what’s going to happen when you walk to the store or go for a jog or are driving down the street or are looking at some birds in a park.”
Obama's speech offered a distinct contrast in tone to the way his successor, President Donald Trump, has responded to the protests, some of which have devolved into violence. Trump has threatened to deploy the US military to quell demonstrations and told governors to get "tougher".
Obama did not mention Trump on Wednesday, though he has criticised the president's actions more frequently in recent weeks.
(With inputs from Reuters)