Shikha Dalmia on Why Obama is Leading from Behind on Racial Justice
Barack Obama's presidency was supposed to usher an era of post-racial healing in America. But the racial unrest following the shooting of Michael Brown shows that, if anything, the opposite has happened.
The police officer may have been justified in shooting Brown, an unarmed teenager, six times at close range, notes Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia—or maybe he wasn't. But communities can overlook an unjustified killing if it isn't reflective of a larger trend—just as they can overreact to a justified killing if it is.
And there is certainly a trend of black targeting both in Ferguson and America. Yet President Obama could muster nothing but the most anodyne statements, showing that the cause of racial justice might need someone other than a mealy mouthed, black Democrat who is sweet on Big Government.