President Barack Obama called out "Black Lives Matter" activists and urged them to be more willing to sit down and discuss their concerns Saturday during a town hall discussion in London.
Obama, who had been speaking at the Royal Horticultural Halls in central London, addressed racial issues and the demands of the BLM activists while criticizing the movement for alienating others with the way in which it presents its concerns, according to CNN.
U.S. President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks to a town hall meeting with an audience from the U.S. Embassy�s Young Leaders UK program at Lindley Hall, the Royal Horticultural Society, in London, Saturday, April 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
"You can't just keep on yelling at them and you can't refuse to meet because that might compromise the purity of your position," Obama said as he referred to the BLM's reaction to racially-motivated police violence, according to CNN.
Obama also attempted to draw the activists' attention to the importance engaging in civil discourse and expressing a willingness to hear and respect other viewpoints besides their own.
"The value of social movements and activism is to get you at the table, get you in the room and then start trying to figure out how is this problem going to be solved," Obama continued, according to NBC News. "You then have a responsibility to prepare an agenda that is achievable —that can institutionalize the changes you seek and to engage the other side."
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