Trayvon Martin could have been any of our sons, so I was not especially moved by that remark of President [Barack] Obama's.

Young African - millennials really love Barack Obama.

This was in 2004, and it told me that President [Barack] Obama intended to be very careful and noncontroversial in addressing race matters. I

Sometimes, I repeat myself, and that was a second elimination [of Barack Obama]. I worked with a team, including a great editor who, as the project came together, suggested other additions and eliminations. It was a process.

President [Barack] Obama's choice of Rahm Emmanuel as his Chief of Staff was questionable, and perhaps coverups around the police violence against black people in Chicago is reflective of Mr. Emmanuel's values.

Cutting HBCUs was unconscionable. Implementing new regulations on Parent Plus loans, which cost HBCUs 28,000 students, was hostile. At the same time, it is important to note that, except for his first two years, which were a missed opportunity, President [Barack] Obama faced rabid opposition from the Republicans.

I serve on the Institute of the Black World's National Commission on African-American Reparations, and we have asked the President [Barack Obama] to, by executive order, establish a commission to study reparations. He can do this without Congressional approval. While I am not optimistic, I do hope that President Obama considers this in these waning months of his Presidency.