President Obama made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room Friday to share his thoughts on the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, saying it is important to look at the case through the lens of past discrimination. 
 
 "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago," Obama said, during extensive and deeply personal remarks that lasted for 18 minutes. "And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there’s a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it’s important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that -- that doesn’t go away." 
 
 Obama continued: "And I don't want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African American community interprets what happened one night in Florida. And it's inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear." 
 
 Obama spoke in a quiet and sometimes halting voice, without notes, touching on both his own experience as a black man and what he sees in his daughters, Sasha and Malia, and their relationship to children of other races. "There are very few African American men who haven't had the experience of being followed in a department store. That includes me," he said. 
 
 But he also struck a hopeful note, saying, "As difficult and challenging as this episode has been, things are getting better." 
 
 The president said that his daughters and their friends are "better than we are, they’re better than we were, on these issues. And that’s true at every community I’ve visited across this country." 
 
 “We should also have confidence that kids these days, I think, have more sense than we did back then, and certainly more than our parents did or our grandparents did," Obama said. "And along this long journey, we’re becoming a more perfect union, not a perfect union, but a more perfect union.” 
 
 Obama said he and his deputies were considering a few concrete policy options in the wake of the Zimmerman verdict, such as trying to train state and local law enforcement officials how to better deal with issues of racial bias, and exploring whether state laws such as "Stand Your Ground" might "encourage the kinds of altercations and confrontations" rather than defuse them. 
 
 More broadly, he said he wanted to pursue a "long-term project" of "thinking about, how do we bolster and reinforce African American boys? And this is something that Michelle and I talk a lot about. There are a lot of kids out there that need help, that are getting a lot of negative reinforcement." 
 
 It is important, Obama said, for individual Americans to "do some soul-searching" about their own inherent racial biases, and ask, "Am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can?" 
 
 "That would, I think, be an important exercise in the wake of this tragedy," he said. 
 
 More on this story: 
 
 Full video of Obama's remarks 
 
 Full transcript 
 
 The Fix: President Obama's remarkably personal speech on race 
 
 Robert Zimmerman: 'I'm glad he spoke out today' ||||| CLOSE President Obama made a statement about the George Zimmerman trial verdict saying that he could have been Trayvon Martin 35 years ago. He said that the country needs to stop racial disparities. VPC 
 
 In his most extensive comments on race since the 2008 campaign, Obama asks nation to "wring" bias out of themselves 
 
 Barack Obama at his high school graduation, left, and slain teen Trayvon Martin. (Photo: Obama photo via the Obama Presidential Campaign; Trayvon Martin family photo) Story Highlights President Obama urges Americans to respect the verdict in the George Zimmerman case 
 
 Obama also said whites need to understand the realities of racial discrimination 
 
 The nation should do soul searching in the wake of the case, Obama says 
 
 President Obama said Friday that all Americans should respect a jury's acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin, but white Americans should also understand that African Americans are pained by Trayvon's death and continue to face racial discrimination. 
 
 "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago," the nation's first African-American president said during a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room. 
 
 Obama, who last year said the 17-year-old Florida shooting victim could just as easily have been his son, talked about how he has been subjected to casual prejudice. He also said African Americans need to address the problems of violence in their own communities. 
 
 African-American males know they are more likely to be both "victims and perpetrators of violence," Obama said, and "somebody like Trayvon Martin was probably statistically more likely to be shot by a peer than he was by somebody else." 
 
 The problem is that so many people paint with a "broad brush" and see all black young men as potential criminals, Obama said. 
 
 A Florida jury acquitted Zimmerman on Saturday night of murder in the 2012 death of 17-year-old Trayvon. This was Obama's first on-camera comments on the case since the verdict was handed down Saturday night. He had had issued a written statement calling for calm on Sunday. 
 
 Obama has generally avoiding discussing racial issues -- today was probably his most extensive comments on the issue as president, reminiscent of his speech on race relations during the 2008 campaign. 
 
 FIRST TAKE: Obama leading from behind on race 
 
 In an extraordinary 19-minute appearance, Obama spoke personally and at times emotionally about the frustrations African-Americans have with the justice system, and the continuing racial divides that shadow the nation. 
 
 "I think it's important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away," Obama said, and "it's going to be important for all of us to do some soul-searching." 
 
 Obama told reporters that, like other African Americans, he has been followed by security guards while shopping, and has seen motorists lock their doors or women hold tighter to their purses as he walked near them. While didn't want to "exaggerate," Obama said "those sets of experiences inform how the African-American community interprets what happened one night in Florida." 
 
 He cited racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and how blacks tend to be charged more often with drug offenses and sentenced to longer prison terms than whites. He also said it's fair to wonder what would have happened in Florida if the shooter had been a young African-American. 
 
 Obama said he respects the different views of the verdict, but the trial was conducted professionally, and "once the jury has spoken, that's how our system works." While demonstrations and peaceful protests are understandable, he said violence "dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family." 
 
 Said Obama: "Now, the question for me at least, and I think for a lot of folks, is where do we take this?" 
 
 While the Justice Department investigates whether to charge Zimmerman with civil rights violations in the case, Obama said state and local levels should examine whether changes to laws can head off violent confrontations. He cited laws to ban racial profiling, and proposed new kind of training for law enforcement in order "to reduce the kind of mistrust in the system that sometimes currently exists." 
 
 The president also questioned the wisdom of Florida's "stand your ground" law, which, in the view of critics, all but encourages confrontation that could turn deadly. 
 
 Obama also suggested people consider whether Trayvon also had the right to stand his ground, adding: "Do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened?" 
 
 The nation should also think about ways to "bolster and reinforce our African American boys," Obama said, saying there are too many kids out there who need help, but "are getting a lot of negative reinforcement." 
 
 Obama said all Americans should do "soul-searching" in the wake of the verdict and the reactions to it, but questioned whether a full-blown "national conversation" would do much good if too many politicians or pundits were involved. 
 
 "On the other hand, in families and churches and workplaces, there's the possibility that people are a little bit more honest, and at least you ask yourself your own questions about, am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can?" Obama said. 
 
 Borrowing a quote from Abraham Lincoln, Obama said political leaders should do whatever they can to encourage ''the better angels of our nature." rather than "using these episodes to heighten divisions." 
 
 Obama also said that Americans should realize that, over the course of decades, American race relations have improved, citing his daughters and their friends as examples. While that doesn't means "we're in a post-racial society," Obama said there is progress. 
 
 "I don't want us to lose sight that things are getting better," Obama said. 
 
 Obama also paid tribute to Trayvon's parents, saying that "I can only imagine what they're going through and it's remarkable how they've handled it." 
 
 In a statement, Trayvon's parents Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton said Friday, "we are deeply honored and moved that President Obama took the time to speak publicly and at length about our son, Trayvon. The President's comments give us great strength at this time." 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/12PhEZT ||||| Full transcript of President Obama's remarks on race and the Trayvon Martin case, Friday, July 19, 2013, in the White House press briefing room, as released by the White House: 
 
 
 
 THE PRESIDENT: I wanted to come out here, first of all, to tell you that Jay is prepared for all your questions and is very much looking forward to the session. The second thing is I want to let you know that over the next couple of weeks, there's going to obviously be a whole range of issues -- immigration, economics, et cetera -- we'll try to arrange a fuller press conference to address your questions. 
 
 The reason I actually wanted to come out today is not to take questions, but to speak to an issue that obviously has gotten a lot of attention over the course of the last week -- the issue of the Trayvon Martin ruling. I gave a preliminary statement right after the ruling on Sunday. But watching the debate over the course of the last week, I thought it might be useful for me to expand on my thoughts a little bit. 
 
 First of all, I want to make sure that, once again, I send my thoughts and prayers, as well as Michelle's, to the family of Trayvon Martin, and to remark on the incredible grace and dignity with which they've dealt with the entire situation. I can only imagine what they're going through, and it's remarkable how they've handled it. 
 
 The second thing I want to say is to reiterate what I said on Sunday, which is there's going to be a lot of arguments about the legal issues in the case -- I'll let all the legal analysts and talking heads address those issues. The judge conducted the trial in a professional manner. The prosecution and the defense made their arguments. The juries were properly instructed that in a case such as this reasonable doubt was relevant, and they rendered a verdict. And once the jury has spoken, that's how our system works. But I did want to just talk a little bit about context and how people have responded to it and how people are feeling. 
 
 You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there's a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it's important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away. 
 
 There are very few African American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me. There are very few African American men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me -- at least before I was a senator. There are very few African Americans who haven't had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often. 
 
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– When the Trayvon Martin shooting took place, President Obama made headlines by saying that Trayvon could have been his son. Today, he took it further: "Trayvon could have been me 35 years ago," he said during an unscheduled stop in the White House briefing room to talk about the case. Some highlights, as noted by USA Today, the New York Times, and the Washington Post: “I think it’s important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that—that doesn’t go away. There are very few African-American men in this country who haven’t had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me.” "I don’t want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African-American community interprets what happened one night in Florida. And it’s inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear.” But: "I don't want us to lose sight of the fact that things are getting better." Referring to his daughters and their generation: "They’re better than we are, they’re better than we were, on these issues," and that should instill confidence that things will change. He asked all Americans to do some "soul-searching," asking themselves, "Am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can."