title:  President Obama Defends Black Lives Matter Movement, Calls For Unity (VIDEO)
text: During a press conference in Spain Sunday morning, President Obama spoke out against  overgeneralizations  that some people are making towards police officers. At the same time, Obama praised the First Amendment and the right to protest. This follows the shooting in Dallas, Texas last week that claimed the lives of five police officers.He urged those involved with the anti-brutality and criminal justice reform movement to extend an olive branch to those who might be allies. President Obama then went on to say that the Black Lives Matter movement is a part of a  long tradition  of positive change in the United States. If we paint police in broad brush, without recognizing the vast majority of police officers are doing a really good job and are trying to protect people and do so fairly and without racial bias, if our rhetoric doesn t not recognize that then we re going to lose allies in the reform cause,  he explained.  In a movement like Black Lives Matter, there are always going to be people who say things that are stupid or are imprudent or are overgeneralized or are harsh.  Obama continued, saying  And that is sometimes messy and controversial. But because of that ability to protest and engage in free speech, America overtime has gotten better. President Obama then went on to admonish those who are blaming protestors and others within the Black Lives Matter movement for the shooting. And I don t think that you can hold well-meaning activists who are doing the right thing and peacefully protesting responsible for everything that is uttered at a protest. But I think the overwhelming majority of people that are involved in the Black Lives Matter movement, what they really want to see is a better relationship between the police and the community so that they can feel that it s serving them. President Obama has decided to cut short his trip in Spain in order to return to The United States. He will be in Dallas sometime this week where he will speak out against violence and propose policies to combat the  persistent racial disparities in our criminal justice system  according to a statement.You can watch President Obama speak at the press conference below.Featured image from video screenshot 