Following Obama 's election , many pondered the existence of a " postracial America . " However , lingering racial tensions quickly became apparent , and many African-Americans expressed outrage over what they saw as " racial venom " directed at Obama 's presidency . In July 2009 , prominent African-American Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates , Jr. , was arrested at his Cambridge , Massachusetts home by a local police officer , sparking a controversy after Obama stated that the police acted " stupidly " in handling the incident . To reduce tensions , Obama invited Gates and the police officer to the White House in what became known as the " Beer Summit " . Several other incidents during Obama 's presidency sparked outrage in the African-American community and/or the law enforcement community , and Obama sought to build trust between law enforcement officials and civil rights activists . The acquittal of George Zimmerman following the shooting of Trayvon Martin sparked national outrage , leading to Obama giving a speech in which he noted that " Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago . " The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson , Missouri sparked a wave of protests . These and other events led to the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement , which campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people . Some in the law enforcement community criticized Obama 's condemnation of racial bias after incidents in which police action led to the death of African-American men , while some racial justice activists criticized Obama 's expressions of empathy for the police . Though Obama entered office reluctant to talk about race , by 2014 he began openly discussing the disadvantages faced by many members of minority groups . In a March 2016 Gallup poll , nearly one third of Americans said they worried " a great deal " about race relations , a higher figure than in any previous Gallup poll since 2001
systemic racism
Institutional racism
Presidency of Barack Obama