"I'm waiting for the NRA to say 'if Trayvon Martin had a gun, he would still be alive today.'" - Tavis Smiley
In the aftermath of George Zimmerman's acquittal, Tavis Smiley challenges Bill O'Reilly on the broader societal issues that confront Black Americans— specifically males. Smiley outlines 4-5 ways in which he personally feels America has "a contempt" for Black males.
"[None of] this isn't to say the American community is naive about the fact that African-American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system. It's not to make excuses for that fact, although black folks do interpret the reasons for that in a historical context, [one] born out of a very violent past in this country. And the poverty, and the dysfunction, can be traced to a very difficult history. The fact that that's sometimes unacknowledged adds to the frustration. The fact that a lot of African American boys are painted with a broad brush…and these statistics out there [about violence]…[and people] using that as an excuse to see sons treated differently causes pain." - Barack Obama
President Barack Obama made a statement concerning the Trayvon verdict in which he discussed: the African American reactions to the trial, the racial implications of the case, reexamining the law, and changing the state of race in America. He also discussed his own personal experiences in which he was treated differently for the colour of his skin.