The Root of this is Racism: Ferguson Activist Speaks Out on Police Abuses After Meeting Obama

One week after the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case, President Obama has given his first major policy response to the protests from Ferguson and beyond over racial profiling and police brutality. At a meeting with activists and officials from around the country, Obama unveiled a process to address what he called "simmering distrust." The administration's response comes as protests continue nationwide over the nonindictment of former officer Darren Wilson over killing Brown. On Monday, demonstrators walked out of workplaces and classrooms in some 30 cities with their hands raised, the symbol of Brown's death and the movement that has emerged since. As the "Hands Up Walk Out" took place, some of the movement's key leaders were not out in the streets but inside the White House. Obama's guests included seven young activists who have helped organize the protests in Ferguson and in other communities of color. We are joined by one of those activistsAshley Yates, an activist, poet and artist who is cocreator of Millennial Activists United. "While that is a step towards ending this real problem," Yates says of Obama's reforms, "the real root of it has to be addressed. And the real root of it is racism in America, the antiblack sentiments that exist. Until we begin to address that, we really can't have any real change all we have are these small steps towards justice. We need leaps and bounds."

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