LOOKING BACK

Obama: ‘Great Urgency’ to Address Race

One year after Ferguson.

In an interview with NPR one year after unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was gunned down by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., President Obama says he feels a “great urgency” to address race. Obama said he doesn’t “buy” the notion that political considerations in his first term kept him from efficiently addressing the issue of race. “Here’s one thing I will say: That I feel a great urgency to get as much done as possible,” Obama said. “And, there’s no doubt that after over six and a half years on this job, I probably have an easier time juggling a lot of different issues. And, it may be that my passions show a little bit more. Just because I have been around this track for now for a while.”