"My hope is that as a consequence of this event, this ends up being what’s called ‘a teachable moment' where all of us, instead of pumping up the volume, spend a little more time listening to each other,” he said.
—President Obama, in a White House briefing today
Suggested Reading
Read the full statement here.
"You can't speak out too soon about racism and injustice. I know that Skip Gates is going to be alright … But I'm thinking about all of those black men out there, unknown, unlettered, unlearned who are daily confronted with police officers … who did not care and who showed great disrespect for the person and their rights. That's the real issue."
Vernon Jordan, on MSNBC's The Place for Politics
"There's no making something about race. Race is not a card that we can pull out…"
—Touré on MSNBC's Morning Meeting
"It's clear that the handcuffing of Dr. Gates was unneccessary, it seems. He was no threat to anybody."
—Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. on MSNBC's Morning Meeting
Listen to Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Gayle King's show. He responds to President Obama's comments.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.