Obama: Black Lives Matter Activists Need to Stop 'Yelling'

During a speech at a town hall in London on Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama criticized activists from the Black Lives Matter movement for alienating others with the way in which it presents its concerns.

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"You can't just keep on yelling at them. You can't refuse to meet because that might compromise the purity of your position," he stated.

Speaking to over 500 young British people, President Obama acknowledged the fact that criminal justice and anti-racist activists have been "really effective in bringing attention to a problem.” But he warned that activists must be prepared to adopt a realistic agenda when politicians are ready to address a problem.

The U.S. leader also said complacency must be avoided when addressing racial justice issues, although he argued that progress is being made in the U.S.

"One of the dangers is that by electing a Black president people say there must be no problem at all," he added.

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Obama's comments come amid criticism from members of the Black community, who accuse the country’s first ever Black president of failing to adequately address structural racism and criminal justice issues.

Irrespective of Obama's claims that racial inequality is improving in the U.S., discriminatory policing and judicial practices disproportionately target Black people and members of other marginalized groups.