'America has NOT overcome the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow': Obama tells Trevor Noah that the country still ha s along way to go to beat racism

  • President Barack Obama sat down with the Daily Show's host Trevor Noah for an interview this week 
  • Noah, who is also biracial, wanted to know how Obama walked a line on race during his White House tenure 
  • The president explained that while the country had made progress America was still being impacted by its past 
  • Obama said he held onto the belief that those not affected by racism could have 'blind spots,' but that didn't mean they weren't interested in learning about it 
  • He also defended taking a diplomatic approach on race relations, suggesting that appealing to people's 'better angels' isn't 'compromise'

By Nikki Schwab, U.s. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com

Published: 18:03 EST, 13 December 2016 | Updated: 19:53 EST, 13 December 2016

While President Barack Obama said the United States has made 'real and extraordinary' progress, he suggested that the country has 'by no means overcome the legacies of slavery and Jim Crow and colonialism and racism.'

Obama made this statement to the Daily Show's host Trevor Noah, who had pointed out their similar biracial backgrounds, and asked the outgoing president how he had navigated talking about race through his White House tenure. 

The president said he had held onto a belief that 'those who are not subject to racism can sometimes have blind spots,' adding that a 'lack of appreciation' for what racism feels like to those it affects doesn't mean individuals it doesn't are not interested in learning about racism or caring about equality and justice. 

'I always felt that If I always knew that and communicated it as clearly as I could, that I'd be OK,' Obama said. 

President Obama spoke about how he navigated racial issues during his eight years in the White House 

President Obama (left) told Comedy Central's Trevor Noah (right) that he felt the U.S. hasn't overcome the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, colonialism and racism 

The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah (pictured), is also biracial - and wanted to hear from the president how he traversed a black and white world 

The president said there wasn't a time in his public life where he felt like he had to 'bite my tongue,' but he has had to sit back and think about how to talk about racial issues 'diplomatically.' 

'So there have been very few instances where I've said, "Well, that was racist. You are racist,'" Obama said. 'There are times I have said, "You may not have taken into account the ongoing legacy of racism for why we have so many black men incarcerated."' 

'And since I know that you believe in the Constitution and believe in justice and believe in liberty, how about if we try this?' Obama said he would say.  

Obama said he realized that some people might criticize him for 'not speaking fully truth to power' because he approached racial issues in such a diplomatic way.  

'I don't think trying to appeal to the "better angels of our nature,' as Lincoln put it, is somehow compromise,' Obama argued.    

The president also noted how the racial arguments of today are often more nuanced as racism generally isn't as overt.  

He used the example of an actress in Hollywood not getting a part because she 'doesn't quite look the part.' 

And explained that racial dialogue today is often trying to figure out what that means. 

'There may be times where you just have to call things out and name names, but the challenge we face today when it comes to race is rarely the overt Clansman style racism,' Obama said.  

Instead it's 'the complex ways society is trying to work these issues through.' 

Seeing that the interview was airing on Comedy Central, Obama put the question through a pop culture lens too, explaining to Noah that everyone has a different role to play.  

'If Chris Rock is doing stand-up then there is a benefit to him doing something that is different than the president of the United States doing something,' Obama said. 

Rock is known for his saucy jokes about being a black man in America, which tackle real issues like gun violence and racism. 

'For one thing, he doesn't have to edit language quite as carefully. Because I am still subject to some restraints on those seven words that George Carlin talked about,' Obama said, name-dropping the late comedian whose famous skit articulated which words were the worst in the English language. 

'I can't use those as a general proposition because a lot of children are watching,' Obama said. 'I try to comport myself in a way that my mother would approve of.'  

 

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