After a recent visit to El Reno prison in Oklahoma, President Obama said his life could have taken a similar path like that of the prisoners’ if he had not had the kind of family and community support many young men of color lack, Washington Post reports.
The president visited the federal prison on Thursday, July 16, where he went into one of the cells and spoke to some of the inmates.
According to the report, the president commented that if not for the Grace of God, he could have been in a similar position. It was reported that Obama has acknowledged using marijuana and trying cocaine in his youth.
After talking with six inmates, Obama disclosed that “when they describe their youth, these are young people who made mistakes that aren’t that different from the mistakes I made, and the mistakes that a lot of you guys made,” Washington Post reported. “The difference is that they did not have the kind of support structures, the second chances, the resources that would allow them to survive those mistakes.”
Obama also created a record as the first United States President to visit a prison while in office.
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