President Barack Obama, making his eighth appearance Monday on the "Late Show," said that rebuilding trust with police has to be a central effort in avoiding the kind of racial tensions and rioting that took place last week in Baltimore.
"There's some very practical, concrete things we can do to make the system work better," Obama told David Letterman. "This is not just a policing problem. What you have are pockets of poverty, lack of opportunity...all across the country. Too often we ignore those pockets until something happens."
Obama also addressed the criminal charges filed against the six Baltimore police officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray, largely reiterating comments he made from the White House last week.
"It's important that now that charges have been brought in Baltimore that we let due process play itself out," the president said. "Those officers that have been charged, they deserve to be represented...It's also really important to remember that the overwhelming majority of police officers are doing an outstanding job."
Letterman asked Obama whether racism is a factor driving poverty in some communities.
"We can't ignore that," Obama responded. "We don't need to, sort of, accuse everybody of racism today to acknowledge that that's part our past and if we want to get past that then we have to make a little bit of an extra effort."
The president pointed to an initiative he announced on Monday, the My Brother's Keeper Alliance, intended to focus attention and resources on young men of color. Private companies have committed to spending $80 million, in part on education and job training.
The mostly serious interview -- which also touched on early childhood education, the trade deal the administration is negotiating with 11 Pacific Rim nations and jobs for veterans -- included a few laugh lines.
"Is this the first country you've presidented?" Letterman asked.
"I suspect it is the first and last," Obama said. "Unlike late night talk shows, I'm term limited."
Obama appeared on the program Monday as Letterman is preparing to broadcast his final show on May 20.
"We've grown up with you," Obama said. "You're part of all of us...You've given us a great gift."
In addition to taping Letterman and announcing the creation of the nonprofit, the president also attended a pair of fundraisers. The first was held at the Upper East Side home of Loida Nicolas-Lewis, whose late husband was the Baltimore born businessman Reginald F. Lewis.
The fundraiser was attended by Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles and Wendell Pierce, the actor who played Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire.
Obama told the crowd that his administration had made strides in dealing with the economy but acknolwedged that many had been left behind. "If we're going to be successful over the long haul," he said, "we can't leave communities behind."