12-08-14 Amended Council Agenda, Packet & Committee Meetings

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Remarks by the President After Announcement of the Decision by the Grand Jury in Ferg... Page 2 of 2 But what is also true is that there are still problems and communities of color aren't just making these problems up. Separating that from this particular decision, there are issues in which the law too often feels as if it is being applied in discriminatory fashion. I don't think that's the norm. I don't think that's true for the majority of communities or the vast majority of law enforcement officials. But these are real issues. And we have to lift them up and not deny them or try to tamp them down. What we need to do is to understand them and figure out how do we make more progress. And that can be done. That won't be done by throwing bodies. That won't be done by smashing car windows. That won't be done by using this as an excuse to vandalize property. And it certainly won't be done by hurting anybody. So, to those in Ferguson, there are ways of channeling your concems constructively and there are ways of channeling your concems destructively. Michael Brown's parents understand what it means to be constructive. The vast majority of peaceful protesters, they understand it as well. Those of you who are watching tonight understand that there's never an excuse for violence, particularly when there are a lot of people in goodwill out there who are willing to work on these issues. On the other hand, those who are only interested in focusing on the violence and just want the problem to go away need to recognize that we do have work to do here, and we shouldn't try to paper it over. Whenever we do Nat, the anger may momentarily subside, but over time, it builds up and America isn't everything that it could be. And I am confident that if we focus our attention on the problem and we look at what has happened in communities around the country effectively, then we can make progress not just in Ferguson, but in a lot of other cities and communities around the country. Okay? Q Mr. President, will you go to Ferguson when things settle down there? THE PRESIDENT: Well, let's take a look and see haw things are going. Eric Holder has been there. We've had a whole team from the Justice Department there, and I think that they have done some very good work. As I said. the vast majority of the community has been working very ham to try to make sure that this becomes an opportunity for us to seize the moment and turn this into a positive situation. But I think that we have to make sure that we focus at least as much attention on all those positive activities that are taking place as we do on a handful of folks who end up using this as an excuse to misbehave or to break the law or to engage in violence. I think that it's going to be very important — antl I think the media is going to have a responsibility as well — to make sure that we focus on Michael Brawn's parents, and the clergy, and the community leaders, and the civil rights leaders, and the activists, and law enforcement officials who have been working very hard to try to find better solutions -- long -term solutions, to this issue. There is inevitably going to be some negative reaction, and it will make for good N. But what we want to do is to make sure that we're also focusing on those who can offer the kind of real progress that we know is possible, that the vast majority of people in Ferguson, the St. Louis region, in Missouri, and around the country are looking for. And I want to be partners with those folks. And we need to IM up that kind of constructive dialogue that's taking place . All right END 10:18 P.M. EST http: / /www.whitchouse.gov/ the - press - office/ 2014 /11/24 /remarks- president- after - announce... 12/1/2014