According to Fox News:
In an interview with BET, the president described his conversation
with a group of young civil rights activists, including a leader of
protests in Ferguson, Missouri, he hosted last week in the Oval
Office.
Obama said he told them that "this is something that is deeply rooted
in our society, it's deeply rooted in our history."
America has made gains, and that "gives us hope" of making more
progress, he said.
"We can't equate what is happening now to what was happening 50 years
ago," Obama said, "and if you talk to your parents, grandparents,
uncles, they'll tell you that things are better, not good in some
places, but better."
Obama said he is advising young people to be persistent because
"typically progress is in steps, it's in increments."
In dealing with something "as deeply rooted as racism or bias in any
society, you've got to have vigilance but you have to recognize that
it's going to take some time and you just have to be steady so that
you don't give up when you don't get all the way there," Obama said.
