Obama 'impatient' for racial progress in America

President Barack Obama today said he is "impatient" to see racial progress in the US as the country grapples with a rising tide of discontent over race relations among black Americans.
"There's no reason for folks to be patient. I'm impatient. That's why, in the wake of what happened in Ferguson and what happened in New York, we have initiated a task force that, in 90 days, are going to be providing very specific recommendations," Obama told CNN in an interview, referring to the unrest following the recent deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of white police officers.

"On the other hand, I think an unwillingness to acknowledge that progress has been made cuts off the possibility of further progress. If critics want to suggest that America is inherently and irreducibly racist, then why bother even working on it?" he asked.
"I have seen change in my own life. So has this country. And those who would deny that, I think, actually foreclose the possibility of further progress, rather than advancing it," he added.
Responding to questions, Obama said he has a different perspective on racism.
"I wrote a whole book about this. There's no doubt that I have moved back and forth between the racial divides, not just black and white, but Asian and Latino. I have got a lot of cultural influences," he said.

"I think what it does do for me is to recognise that most Americans have good intentions. I said a little bit about this in a press conference earlier today. I assume the best, rather than the worst in others," Obama said.

"But it also makes me mindful of the fact that there's misunderstanding, there's mistrust, and there are biases, both overt and sometimes hidden, that operate in ways that disadvantage minority communities," he said.
"That's a carryover. There's a long legacy in this country that has gotten enormously better, but is still there. And when you look at what's happened in law enforcement across the country over the last several years, that's not news to African-Americans," he said.

"What's different is simply that some of it is now videotaped and people see it. And the question then becomes, you know, what practical steps can we take to solve this problem? I believe that the overwhelming majority of white Americans, as well as African-Americans, want to see this problem solved," he said.
"So I have confidence that, by surfacing these issues, we're going to be able to make progress on them," Obama said.