The US president has said police acted "stupidly" when they arrested a black Harvard scholar outside his own home.
Prof Henry Louis Gates was held last week in Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to the top university where he teaches.
Barack Obama said the US had a long history of African-Americans being disproportionately stopped by police.
Officers were called to Prof Gates's house after a woman reported seeing two black males - the professor and his driver - trying to force entry.
Although the exact facts of the incident are disputed, Prof Gates was arrested outside his home after providing the officer with identification.
BBC NEWS CHANNEL
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