President Barack Obama addresses Black Lives Matter movement in White House talk

He described it as a ''specific problem affecting the African-American community''

(Getty)

President Obama has spoken up in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, silencing critics who think the cause ignores other races and agreeing that fears of racial disparity in the criminal justice system are legitimate.

The #BlackLivesMatter hashtag began in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, a neighbourhood watch coordinator who shot dead unarmed 17 year old Trayvon Martin.

While it has gathered support and become a focal point surrounding the issue of racial inequality in America, the emergence of #AllLivesMatter soon came in response from white people who felt the original hashtag was itself racist by valuing black lives over others.

Obama explained, during a White House talk on criminal justice reform, why All Lives Matter was missing the point entirely.

“I think everybody understands all lives matter,” he said, adding that “there is a specific problem that is happening in the African-American community that's not happening in other communities. And that is a legitimate issue that we've got to address.”

The organisation states that Black Lives Matter is “a unique contribution that goes beyond extrajudicial killings of black people by police and vigilantes”. They seek to affirm the lives of black men and woman across the gender spectrum.

It gathered more momentum as more black lives were taken at the hands of US police, including Michael Brown’s fatal shooting in Ferguson, which led to a national protest against racial inequality in America.

Obama added that, as a society, it was imperative that the inequality against the African-American community was taken seriously.

“One of the ways of avoiding the politics of this and losing the moment is everybody just stepping back for a second and understanding that the African-American community is not just making this up,” he said.

“It's not just something being politicised. It's real, and there's a history behind it. And we have to take it seriously.”