President Obama: Wise Words

CNN:

Revolution changes structures and externalities over night; it does not change at the deep levels. Deep level change occurs over time. Work now for change tomorrow, and next week, and next month, and next year, and in a decade.

Washington (CNN) — After weeks of racial protests across the country, President Barack Obama is taking the time to deliver encouraging words about the future of race relations in America to a network that reaches a predominately young African-American audience.

“What I told the young people who I met with — we’re going to have more conversations over the coming months — is, ‘This isn’t something that is going to be solved overnight,’ Obama says in an interview with BET that will air Monday. “‘This is something that is deeply rooted in our society. It’s deeply rooted in our history.'”

Once criticized for shying away from the topic of race early on in his presidency, Obama has more recently been forced to lead a discussion on the issue.

In his interview, the President says African-American youth need to be both persistent and patient in order to make progress on the issue of racial tensions in America.

“It’s important to recognize as painful as these incidents are, we can’t equate what is happening now to what happened fifty years ago,” the President said in the interview. “If you talk to your parents, grandparents, uncles, they’ll tell you that things are better — not good, in some cases, but better.”