Summary

Barack Obama’s remarks on Trayvon Martin refer to the death of an African-American teenager, who was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer despite being unarmed and not having broken the law. Obama delivered his speech to the media in the White House on the 19th of July, 2013.

Obama begins his speech by stating that his spokesman, Jay Carney, is prepared to answer the media’s questions as soon as Obama ends his speech. He also addresses the issue of the Trayvon Martin court trial, in which the shooter, George Zimmerman, was acquitted of murder. First, he sends his thoughts and prayers to Trayvon Martin’s family and points out that there was no evidence of wrongdoing in Zimmerman’s trial, after which he addresses the context of the situation.

Obama focuses on the African-American community and explains that he could have also been in Trayvon Martin’s place when he was younger, because of his race. He states that all African-American men have had the experience of being feared because of the...