On Wednesday, former President Barack Obama aired his support for the George Floyd protesters. In a virtual town hall, Obama praised demonstrators for bringing change in the United States.

In the video, Obama said, “There is a change of mindset that is taking place, a greater recognition that we can do better.” Despite the increasing media bias against the administration, Obama believed that the changes were not influenced by the establishment of media and politicians.

The former US President also praised the protesters, adding that “That’s a direct result of the activities and organization and mobilization and engagement of so many young people.” Although he did not mention Trump, Obama hinted criticism against the present administration and urged protesters to “make people in power uncomfortable.”

He also defended demonstrators by saying that the country was built by protests, and is an integral part of American progress. He believed that protests have helped to expand freedom of expression, and challenged the status quo. He also believed that the protests were just a way for the nation to pay for the “original sin of our society” such as slavery. Obama went on to add how Jim Crow had “institutionalized racism,” which had constantly “plagued” the nation.

Moreover, he believed that only a tiny number of protesters have engaged in violence, and complained that they had become the center of media attention. He also weighed in on the “voting versus protest.” He addressed the issue claiming that both “politics and participation” as well as “civil disobedience” are needed for America to move forward.

In the conversation, which lasted for close to an hour and a half, Obama used the opportunity to boast his own success. The former president proudly shared how he had pushed mayors to fix their own police force, as well as establishing a policing task force during his term. In addition, he condemned the “systemic racism” that had been ingrained in law enforcement.

Obama said that eventually, the crowds would eventually die down, and encouraged people to use the momentum to lobby for change. “Let’s use this to finally have an impact,” he said.

Late last month, Obama expressed his condemnation of Floyd’s death, claiming that the incident was “unacceptable.” He explained that such a level of violence should not be considered as “normal” in 2020. Obama aired his grievances during the second day of protests, as the country watched rioters burned down buildings, looted stores, and targeted innocent civilians.