Alliance. Good afternoon. I am the executive director of the my brothers Keeper Alliance. Thank you all for joining us today. The killer of george floyd the killings of george floyd, breonna taylor, have left americans outraged. More than 1000 are killed in america and black people are three times more likely to be killed than white people. Together, we can work to refine redefine Public Safety so that it recognizes the dignity and humanity of every person. This town hall is part of a n ongoing mine brothers Keeper Alliance town hall series. My brothers keeper was launched in 2014 after the tragic killing of trayvon martin. The president launched it in the east room of the white house, everybody to do whatever they could in their power to make sure men of color knew that they matter and to reduce the systemic barriers that stand in their way to make sure every young person has every opportunity to reach their dreams. Today, the work of my brothers keeper continues at the Obama Foundation where we lead a network of more than 250 communities and a massive call to action to businesses, mayors, and other folks across the country. Our mission is to build safe and so younge communities boys and men of color are valued and have opportunity. We are excited to have president obama sharing his viewpoints today and gathering a panel of local and National Experts that are fighting on the ground and fighting this fight for many years. Before we start our program of george, breonna, ahmaud, and others by taking a 32nd moment taking a 30 second moment of silence to remember those lives and reflect. Please join me in a moment of silence. Thank you. We speak their names and hold them in our hearts. It is with their memory that we move ahead in action. It is now my pleasure to start where we should always start. With the future. A young man who i had the pleasure to meet when we were at the my brothers keeper ohio conference. There is a statewide network of my brothers keeper in ohio. This young man blew us away with his incredible words. He graduated from Fort Hays High School in may, class of 2020. He was a straight a student and member of the National Honors society. Patrick will attend the Ohio State University in the fall and plans to major in criminal justice and criminology. It is my pleasure to introduce this brilliant, bright young man, our future, playon patrick. Hello, ladies and gentlemen. , i am 18 years old and plan to attend the Ohio State University. And this is 2020 quarantine killings. And they ask, how do black boys write about their city . How do we know streets if we dont know uncracked sidewalks. They ask, how do these black boys know anything about their city . How the buildings are sitting on corners where brothers bodies are still learning how to rot. There are small crosses placed in the grass where families cannot afford to bury loved ones. Remind my brothers and i that we are early grave before we are anything else. We call those corners playgrounds. We call those corners the killing fields. We call our bodies bullets even if we were never aimed in the right direction. We call the remnants of our mothers family the diaspora tree. We make a catalog of prayers of broken hands. It we pray for our family tree to make its way back home. We use our hands to dig the graves we cannot afford. We are farmers of broken, black bodies. We have never known cities. Never known comfort. Never known safe streets in any city. We use our feet to walk streets paved by sunlight. And ask our shadows if they meant to choose this skin. We make a catalyst of bodies our dinner menu and we eat with our eyes closed. We are fed lies so easily, it tastes like medicine. Always conflicted between being black and being peaceful. I wish god could have given us a choice. For years, we had been told there was something we need to scrub off this body as if this dirt could go away. Working in the field makes you turn onhow easily we each other for a little slice of the pie. We dont know this city. How it was built with our hands. How we couldnt have gotten a house or a bed when it was first built. When it was first settled. When it was first taken from the indians. We dont know home. People could run miles into the night. Our faces bedazzled with remnants of the stars. We will forever search for our fore footsteps. We dont know home. We know this land has never been ours. We know how to fold ourselves into nothing. We know our sweat and tears tenderized this soil. We make fertilizer from the soul. We know how to make these hands be useful. We are the farmers a revolution. No country was built without the piling up of dead bodies. This company this country just happens to be where our dead were dragged and hung up. America, the land of the free and home of the brave. We fought and died for that slogan, right beside our white brothers. Doesnt that make us worth something . Tonight, a riot is the language of the unheard. I want to take a second for thanking the village and the Obama Foundation for giving me an opportunity to communicate and spread the message. It is my honor to introduce a man that needs no introduction. He is the founder of the my brothers keepers program. He is a father, lawyer, lecturer, community organizer, and so much more. Born and raised in honolulu, hawaii, he is the man who changed america forever. He is none other than the 44th president of the United States of america, president barack obama. President obama that was unbelievable. And we could not be prouder. You are a hard act to follow. I cant wait to see all the good things that you will be doing in the future. Good afternoon, everybody. All the participants, the panelists. Let me start by just acknowledging that we have seen, in the last several weeks, the last few months, the kinds of epic changes and events in our country that are as profound as anything that i have seen in my lifetime. Than playonot older. I will be 59 soon. Let me begin by acknowledging that although all of us have been feeling pain, uncertainty, disruption, some folks have been feeling it more than others. Most of all, the pain experienced by families. George, breonna, ahmaud, and so and so many that we thought about during that moment of silence. And to those families affected directly by tragedy, please know that michelle and i, and the nation grieve with you. We are committed to the fight of nation in more just the memory of your sons and daughters. And we cant forget that even as we are confronting the particular act of violence that led to those losses, our nations are in the midst of a Global Pandemic that has exposed the vulnerability of the health care system, but also the disparate treatment, and as a consequence, the disparate impact that exists in our health care system. The unequal investment and the biases that have led to a disproportionate number of infections and lossoflife in communities of color. In a lot of ways, what has happened over the last several weeks is challenges, structural problems in the United States, have been thrown into high relief. They are the outcomes, not just of the immediate moment in time, but the result of a long history of slavery, jim crow, redlining, institutionalized racism that have too often been the plague, the original sin of our society. And in some ways, as tragic as these last few weeks have been, as difficult, scary, and uncertain as they have been, they have been an Incredible Opportunity for people to be awakened. They offer an opportunity for us. We can Work Together to tackle them, take them on, and change america to make it live up to the highest ideals. Part of what has made me so hopeful is the fact that so many young people have been ,alvanized, activated mobilized. Because historically, so much of the progress we have made has been because of young people. Dr. King was a young man when he got involved. Cesar chavez was a young man. Malcolm x was a young man. Feministrs of the movement were young people. The leaders of Union Movements were young people. The leaders of the Environmental Movement and the movement of the Lgbt Community finally had a voice and was represented were young people. When sometimes i feel despair, i see what is happening with young people across the country. With talent, voice, and sophistication that they are displaying. It makes me feel optimistic. It makes me feel as if this country is going to get better. I want to speak directly to the young men and women of color in this country, who as playon so eloquently described, have witnessed too much violence and too much death. And too often, some of that violence comes from folks that were supposed to be serving and protecting you. I want you to know that you matter. I want you to know that your lives matter. That your dreams matter. At thego home and i look faces of my daughters, at my nephews and nieces, i see limitless potential. You should be able to learn and make mistakes without having to worry about what will happen. Taking a jog, driving down the street, or looking at some birds in the park. I hope that you also feel hopeful even as you feel angry you have the power to make things better and you have helped to make the entire country feel as if this is something that has to change. You have communicated a sense of. Rgency i want to acknowledge the folks in Law Enforcement that share the goals of reimagining policing. There are folks out there that took their oath to serve your communities and your countries, they have a tough job, and i know you are just as outraged as are many of the protesters. And so we are grateful for the vast majority of you that protect and serve. I have been heartened to see those in Law Enforcement that recognize let me march along with these protesters. Let me stand sidebyside and recognize i want to be part of the solution. And who show restraint, volunteered, engaged, and listened. You are a vital part of the conversation. And change is going to require everybodys participation. When i was in office, i created a task force on 21st Century Policing in the wake of the tragic killing of michael brown. That task force included Law Enforcement, community leaders, and activists. They were charged to develop a very specific set of recommendations to foster better working relationships between Law Enforcement and communities they are supposed to protect. Even as they are continuing to promote effective crime reduction. That report showcased a range of solutions and strategies that were proven and based on data and research to improve Community Policing and collect better data. Reporting and identifying how police were trained. And using force in ways that increase safety rather than precipitate tragedy. Most of the reforms that are needed to prevent of the type of violence and injustices take place at the local level. Reform has to take place in more than 19,000 american municipalities. More than 18,000 local Law Enforcement jurisdictions. We need to be clear about where change is going to happen. And how we can bring about that change. Mayors and county executives appoint most Police Chiefs. And that determines Police Practices in local communities. District attorney zana states attorneys District Attorneys and state attorneys decide whether or not to investigate or charge those. In many cases, there are Police Community review boards. Those oftentimes may be elected as well. The bottom line is i have been hearing a little bit of chatter on the internet about voting versus protest. Politics and participation versus civil disobedience and direct action. This is not either or. This is both and, to bring about real change. We have to highlight a problem and make people empower people in power uncomfortable. But we also have to translate that into Practical Solutions implementedt can be and we can monitor and make sure we are following up on it. Very quickly. Let me just close with a couple of specific things. What can we do . Number one, there are specific evidencebased reforms that if we put in place today, would build trust, save lives, would not show an increase in crime. Those were included in the 21st Century Policing task force report. You can find it on obama. Org. Two, a lot of mayors and local officials read and supported the task force. Today, i am urging every mayor in this country to review your use of force policies with members of your community and commit to report on planned reforms. What are the specific steps you can take . I should add that the original task force was done several years ago. Since then, we have collected data, in part because we implemented some of these reform ideas. We have more data as to what works. There are organizations Like Campaign zero, color of change come out there highlighting what the data shows. What works and what doesnt in terms of reducing incidents of Police Misconduct and violence. Lets go ahead and start implementing those. We need mayors, county in positionsthers of power to say that this is a priority. Number three, every city in this country should be a my brothers keeper community. Working to expand the opportunities for boys and young men of color, programs and policy reforms. Go to our website. Get working with that because it can make a difference. Let me close by saying this. I have heard some people say that you have a pandemic, then you have these protests. This reminds people of the 60s and the chaos, the discord, the distrust throughout the country. I have to tell you, although i was very young when you had riots and protests, assassinations, and discord back in the 60s. I know enough about the history to say that there is something different. Look at those protests. That was a far more representative crosssection of america out on the streets peacefully protesting. And who felt moved to do something because of the injustices they have seen. That did not exist back in the 1960s. That broad coalition. That recent surveys have shown that despite some protests having been marred by the actions of some, a tiny minority that engaged in violence. As usual, it got a lot of attention and focus. A majority of Americans Still think the protests were justified. That would not have existed 30, 40, 50 years ago. There is a change in mindset that is taking place. A greater recognition that we can do better. That is not as a consequence of speeches by politicians. It is not the result of spotlights and news articles. It is a direct result of the activities, organizing, and mobilization and engagement of so many young people across the country that put themselves on the line to make a difference. So i just have to say thank you to them for helping bring about this moment, making sure that we now follow through. At some point, attention moves away. At some point, protest starts to dwindle in size. It is important for us to take the momentum that has been created as a society and as a country to say, lets use this to finally have an impact. Thank you, everybody. Im proud of you guys. And i know that we will be hearing from a bunch of people that have been on the frontlines of this that know a lot more than i do about it. Thank you, mr. President. For everyone that is watching, the president decided that he wanted to stay and art of the conversation that will be led by brittany, with the attorney general and other leaders. I want to reiterate the pledge the president measured. If you are a mayor, you can go to obama. Org. Several mayors have said, sign me up. They have already taken a pledge. Mayor de blasio of new york mama , mayor lightfoot of chicago, the mayors of minneapolis, d. C. , san francisco, and atlanta. All my brothers keeper communities. We will be posting all the cities and the mayors that take the pledge. And in 90 days, we will see who has taken the pledge and the work happening to create lasting change in communities. It is my pleasure to introduce a friend, activist, educator, writer from nbc and msnbc news. A lifelong activist after the activist and member of the ferguson uprising. Cofounder of Campaign Policy zero, a platform to end Police Violence. Cohost of pod save the people. Today, camping zero, for brittany is a cofounder, adopted 8cantwait. The conversation with president obama and our other leaders, please welcome Brittany Packnett cunningham. Brittany thank you. Thank you for gathering this conversation with this moment of intense grief and hopefully intense purpose. You may be watching this and coming here because you are experiencing that grief and you need a community in which to do that. You may be here because, like me, you are girded in the strength of your ancestry. You come from people, like i do, how did far more with far less and are sure we can win in this moment. What why you have come here, we are glad you are here. Were are here to get honest, to get clear, and to get to work. Even the moments of seeing people raise their voices and in the moments where a Police Officer might take a knee, that momentary action might turn into true, systemic, and lasting change. So many brilliant voices have been gathered. We better understand how we got to this moment. I want to make sure to lift up the names of the people that brought us here. It was george floyd, a father in minneapolis. It was breonna taylor, a lifesaving emt. It was shawn reed, friend and brother in indianapolis. It was tony, a black trans man that loved life in tallahassee, florida. And we are having this in the shadow of ahmaud arbery, and two black trans men that were killed from the hatred that yesterday. Said, we havent been at this for a long time. There is some key work to do and now we are going to do it. Attorney