Obama Sees Work on Race Relations as Key Part of Legacy

President Barack Obama said Monday that he hopes his legacy will include sparking a new discussion on solving issues of racial inequity, including those that warp the criminal justice system — and that his successor will pick up where he left off, NBC News reported. 

"I am very proud that my presidency can help to galvanize and mobilize America on behalf of issues of racial disparity and racial injustice," Obama told NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt during a visit Monday to Newark, New Jersey, to highlight efforts to help former inmates return to society.

Obama has used an increasing amount of his second term to talk candidly about the troubled relationship between law enforcement and minority communities, part of a national debate that was sparked by the killings of young black men by white police officers.

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