was an extraordinary set of presidential remarks the president speaking on race in america in the wake on the acquittal of george zimmerman and shooting of trayvon martin last week. this was expansive. this was thoughtful, at times eloquent, highly personal and far from dispassionate. i say that last sentence because the president, for example, offered words of condolence to the trayvon martin family and complimented that family how they have handled this entire episode but the president had no equivalent words or any kind of words for the zimmerman family and the ordeal they have been through as a result of this shooting and this tragedy. the president at times spoke about having been a young black man in america, and having himself followed when he went sh shopping, and listening himself to the sound of car doors clicking as he would approach cars on a street as a young african-american man. he said that that has been him.
it doesn t mean we re in a post racial society, doesn t mean that racism is eliminated. but, you know, when i tack to malia and sasha, and i listen to their friends and i see them intera interact, they re better than we are. they re better than we were on these issues. that s true in every community that i ve visited all across the countr country. the president said any protests that continue should remain peaceful. he said if violent protests erupt as a result of the verdict in the zimmerman trayvon martin case it would dishonor him. his main point was to put this all into context from his point of view and said african-americ african-americans perceive these kinds of episodes through a long history in america and said african-americans are not naive about the fact it is african-american men who make up a majority often of perpetrators
that it does. he went so far as to recommend that local law enforcement needs to be better trained regarding race. again, isn t he presuming that local law enforcement made decisions based on race, and they insist, as well as prosecutors, they did not. caller: i disagree. i think that this case was, in terms of a courtroom, not about race. but i don t think there s any doubt that the country right now is locked into this as a racial controversy, greg. i think it has stirred lots of discomfort, if not outright questions about how we deal with race, about whether or not, even if trayvon martin was, you know, stereotyped as a criminal because of the way he was dressed and because he was walking between houses, did it matter then if he had turned around and been a white teenager
rendered a verdict. once the jury has spoken that is the way it the system works. i want to talk about the context and people responding and feeling. you know, when trayvon martin was first shot, i said that this could have been my son. another way of saying that, trayvon martin could have been me 35 years ago. when you think about why in the african-american community at least, there is a lot of the pain about what happened here, i think it is important to recognize the african-american community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that
by the end of the week. then there s queen elizabeth. the grandmother-to-be was asked if she wants it to be a boy or girl? she said i don t think i mind. i would very much like it to arrive. i m going on holiday. i m isha sesay. now back to the ac 360 special report. not guilty, the george zimmerman trial. this is an ac 360 special report, not guilty, the zimmerman trial. juror b37 takes us inside the verdict. in this second half hour of my interview, who juror b37 believes is responsible for the fight that cost trayvon martin his life. how jurors voted the first time. and whether she believes the shooting of trayvon martin was justified. do you think trayvon martin played a role in his own death? this wasn t just something that happened to him, this is something he also i believe he played a huge role in his death. he could have when george