Obama needs to lead on racial profiling legislation

President Obama's remarks Thursday on the death of Michael Brown were an echo of his powerful 2013 speech on Trayvon Martin's shooting. Notably absent was any mention of race.

A year ago, the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's shooter sparked protests across the United States. Martin was 17 and armed with nothing more than a bag of Skittles candy. Protestors believed that Florida's self-defense law helped enable civilian George Zimmerman to racially profile Martin and justify shooting him in self-defense. Studies had found that whites who kill blacks are more likely to be found justified in "stand your ground" states like Florida.

Now, a police officer's fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an African-American, in Ferguson, Missouri has reignited the discussion about racial injustice in America. Brown was 18 and planned to start college this week. Witnesses said he was shot multiple times when he refused to comply with an officer's order to "get the f--- onto the sidewalk" or "get the f--- out of the street."

Although the identity of the officer has not been released, a witness who was walking with Brown at the time told CNN that the officer is white. In a primarily black city, only three of Ferguson's police officers are African-American. Facebook and Twitter are abuzz with #iftheygunnedmedown, where young men and women pair a rebellious image of themselves next to a telegenic, shirt-and-tie one to highlight societal stereotypes of minorities.

Officer in Ferguson shooting had no prior disciplinary record

In response to what has become another debate of national -- and racial -- proportion, President Obama advised on Tuesday: "We should comfort each other and talk with one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds." He alluded to the protests and looting in St. Louis. The looting was opportunistic, people taking advantage of a tragedy as a cover for criminal activity. And some of the unrest was a cry for help, desperate acts to get attention from a criminal justice system that has not adequately addressed problems of racial injustice in America.

Complete coverage on Ferguson shooting and protests

But there is a major difference between the way the President addressed race in his Trayvon Martin speech and his Michael Brown remarks Thursday. It is representative of the growing disconnect between an administration that has promised to alleviate racial injustice, and a community in which there is a strong sense of disappointment.