Obama makes call for unity at Dallas memorial

Dallas, United States / AFP

President Barack Obama implored Americans of all races to show more unity and understanding as he addressed an emotional memorial for five slain policemen in Dallas.
The president, accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama, leaned heavily on scripture as he ministered to a country stunned by gun violence and torn asunder by race and politics.
“I know that Americans are struggling right now with what we’ve witnessed over the past week,” he said.
A succession of shootings, each racially charged, has led to a sense that “the deepest fault lines of our democracy have suddenly been exposed, perhaps even widened,” Obama said.
“I’m here to say we must reject such despair. I’m here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem.”
From Charleston to Orlando to last week’s ambush in Dallas, by a black gunman out to kill whites in retribution for police violence, the past year has seen a torrent of slaughter motivated by hate.
Each week seemingly brings new shaky footage of a police officer shooting dead a black American — images that quickly go viral and revive tough questions about race and policing.
Obama’s speech included a frank admission that his own efforts to tackle violence, guns and racism had come up short. “I have spoken at too many memorials during the course of this presidency,” he said with uncommon candor. “I’ve seen how a spirit of unity born of tragedy can gradually dissipate.”
“I’ve seen how inadequate words can be in bringing about lasting change. I’ve seen how inadequate my own words have been.”
‘We’ve heard prejudice’
Eight years ago, Obama’s rhetorical prowess made him America’s first black president and raised hopes that the country could overcome deeply entrenched societal divides.
Tuesday’s memorial service showed a weary president whose hopes for change had been thwarted.
The way out, Obama said — suggesting work that will continue beyond his presidency — was for Americans to open their hearts to each other.
Black Americans protesting police racism, he said, must understand how hard the police’s job can be.
“You know how dangerous some of the communities where these police officers serve are. And you pretend as if there’s no context?”
But Obama also challenged a mostly-white police force and white Americans at large to admit that while the edifice of legalized racism had gone, prejudice remained. “We have all seen this bigotry in our own lives at some point,” he said. “We’ve heard it at times in our own homes. If we’re honest, perhaps we’ve heard prejudice in our own heads and felt it in our own hearts.”
That call for unity was echoed by former president George W. Bush, Obama’s predecessor.
“Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions,” said the Dallas resident.
But Obama, a Democrssat, also made a call for Bush’s fellow Republicans to realize the cost of their opposition to gun control and spending on mental health and drug treatment. “We allow poverty to fester so that entire neighborhoods offer no prospect for gainful employment” Obama said, pointing to a string of causes for violence.