The Root is Racism in America: Ferguson Activist Speaks Out on Police Abuses After Meeting Obama | Democracy Now!
Helping to organize protests in Ferguson landed Ashley Yates an
invitation to the White House. She tells us what she told President
Obama in a face-to-face meeting yesterday.
One week after the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case,
President Obama has given his first major policy response to the
protests from Ferguson and beyond over racial profiling and police
brutality. At a meeting with activists and officials from around the
country, Obama unveiled a process to address what he called "simmering
distrust." The administration’s response comes as protests continue
nationwide over the non-indictment of former officer Darren Wilson over
killing Brown. On Monday, demonstrators walked out of workplaces and
classrooms in some 30 cities with their hands raised, the symbol of
Brown’s death and the movement that has emerged since. As the "Hands Up
Walk Out" took place, some of the movement’s key leaders were not out in
the streets but inside the White House. Obama’s guests included seven
young activists who have helped organize the protests in Ferguson and in
other communities of color. We are joined by one of those activists:
Ashley Yates, an activist, poet and artist who is co-creator of
Millennial Activists United. "While that is a step towards ending this
real problem," Yates says of Obama’s reforms, "the real root of it has
to be addressed. And the real root of it is racism in America, the
anti-black sentiments that exist. Until we begin to address that, we
really can’t have any real change — all we have are these small steps
towards justice. We need leaps and bounds."
