1 of 2 | President Barack Obama (right) speaks following a meeting with elected officials, community and faith leaders, and law enforcement officials, to discuss how communities and law enforcement can work together to build trust to strengthen neighborhoods across the country, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C on November 30, 2014. Obama was seated next to Philadelphia Police Chief Charles Ramsey (2nd-R), New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (2nd-L) and Rasheen Aldridge of the Ferguson Commission. UPI/Kevin Dietsch |
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Disappointment and frustration emanated from Washington this week as President Obama met with activists to discuss concerns raised by a grand jury's decision to not indict former police officer Darren Wilson in the August shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.
"We want [the president] to come out and have accountability for police, we want him to acknowledge our pain, and that we have been peaceful," Rasheen Aldridge, a 20-year-old activist and youngest member of the Gov. Jay Nixon-appointed Ferguson Commission, told USA Today.
Aldridge was first inspired to become politically active by then-Senator Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, describing Obama as his idol at the time.
"This man starts speaking about hope and change and you felt it. I remember staying home when he got inaugurated and staying on the phone with my grandmother watching every state primary exit polls. He was my idol, he was a person I thought about every single day."
Six years later, upon meeting his one-time idol, Aldridge's enthusiasm has soured despite President Obama's calls for police reform and the Justice Department's ongoing civil rights inquiries.
"Those same feelings from 2008 was not there when I met him yesterday. I felt disappointed."
Elsewhere in Washington, members of the Congressional Black Caucus echoed this sentiment, but in regard to the entire nation for priding itself on civility while still enabling those who marginalize the black population.
"The fact that our country -- the greatest country in the world -- remains mired in race relations issues in the year 2014 is an embarrassment," Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, lamented from the House floor.
"The Ferguson grand jury's decision not to indict former officer Darren Wilson was yet another slap in our face. It was a painful reminder that just like with Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice and so many others that law enforcement officers killed -- black and brown men and boys -- without repercussions ... If we are to learn anything from the tragic death of Michael Brown, we must first acknowledge that we have a race issue that we are not addressing."
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, acknowledged the frustrations of his caucus but urged them to support President Obama's proposed law enforcement reforms.
"They're not a cure-all, they're not a panacea. But they are a positive step in the right direction."
