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During his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden acknowledged how he and other white parents don't have to give their kids "the Talk" on how to act when a police officer pulls them over, per Buzzfeed News.
"Beau, Hunter, [Ashley], my children, I never had to have the Talk with them," Biden said on Tuesday (February 7) during his address. "I never had to tell them, 'If a police officer pulls you over, turn your interior lights on right away. Don't reach for your license. Keep your hands on the steering wheel.' Imagine having to worry like that every single time your kid got in a car."
Biden delivered the State of the Union address before RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, the parents of Tyre Nichols, who died last month after being beaten by Memphis police officers during a traffic stop.
As Biden seemingly acknowledged how Black Americans are treated differently by police than their white counterparts, the president urged Congress to "finish the job" on legislation for police reform as well as issues of gun violence, inflation, and abortion rights.
"We all want the same thing: neighborhoods free of violence, law enforcement who earns the community's trust," Biden said during his address. "Our children have a right to come home safely. Equal protection under the laws is a covenant we have with each other in America."
The president remarked that while some police officers are good and honorable people, others "must be held accountable" when they violate the public's trust. His comments prompted a standing ovation from the chamber.
"There's no words to describe the heartache or grief of losing a child, but imagine, imagine if you lost that child to the hands of the law," Biden said with Nichols' family in the audience. "Imagine having to worry whether your son or daughter came home from walking down the street, playing in the park, or just driving a car."
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