This morning, former President Barack Obama shared some words of encouragement and guidance to young organizers in the country hoping to capitalize on this moment as people across the country mobilize against police brutality. Obama shared some words of advice on how to create lasting, structural change in a piece written for Medium.
Obama shared the article, titled How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change, to his Twitter account, adding to the tweet, “I wrote out some thoughts on how to make this moment a real turning point to bring about real change––and pulled together some resources to help young activists sustain the momentum by channeling their energy into concrete action.”
In the piece, Obama addresses the ongoing protests across the country in response to George Floyd’s murder at the hands of law enforcement and the “genuine and legitimate frustration.” He also condemned the violence taking place across the country, writing, “On the other hand, the small minority of folks who’ve resorted to violence in various forms, whether out of genuine anger or mere opportunism, are putting innocent people at risk, compounding the destruction of neighborhoods that are often already short on services and investment and detracting from the larger cause,” he continued, “I saw an elderly black woman being interviewed today in tears because the only grocery store in her neighborhood had been trashed. If history is any guide, that store may take years to come back. So let’s not excuse violence, or rationalize it, or participate in it. If we want our criminal justice system, and American society at large, to operate on a higher ethical code, then we have to model that code ourselves.”
The former President concluded the piece with numerous resources and toolkits he developed during his time in office. He ended with a statement of encouragement and solidarity, “Let’s get to work.”