President’s Comments at Briefing Are Greeted With a Mix of Hope and Skepticism
By ERIK ECKHOLM, NYT
“Wow” is what Joseph Jones of Baltimore said after watching President Obama’s unexpected and deeply personal plea on race and crime on Friday.
“Wow,” repeated Mr. Jones, who as the president of the Center for Urban Families in Baltimore promotes job skills and “responsible fatherhood” training for young men, many of whom know the criminal justice system from the inside.
Like many black Americans, Mr. Jones felt a surge of pride, recognition and hope, he said, when he heard the first African-American president speak so candidly about issues that are of desperate concern within the black community but are often ignored in political debates.
“We’ve grown in our society to a place where the leader of the free world can come out in the bully pulpit and talk honestly about race and young black men,” Mr. Jones said. But the true test of progress will be if another, nonblack president can be so honest, he added.
(More here.)
“Wow” is what Joseph Jones of Baltimore said after watching President Obama’s unexpected and deeply personal plea on race and crime on Friday.
“Wow,” repeated Mr. Jones, who as the president of the Center for Urban Families in Baltimore promotes job skills and “responsible fatherhood” training for young men, many of whom know the criminal justice system from the inside.
Like many black Americans, Mr. Jones felt a surge of pride, recognition and hope, he said, when he heard the first African-American president speak so candidly about issues that are of desperate concern within the black community but are often ignored in political debates.
“We’ve grown in our society to a place where the leader of the free world can come out in the bully pulpit and talk honestly about race and young black men,” Mr. Jones said. But the true test of progress will be if another, nonblack president can be so honest, he added.
(More here.)
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