Considerable progress has, of course, been made in recent decades. Nonetheless, in many areas of public life in the United States, black people and white people still do not receive equal treatment. President Obama knows that regardless of what he does now following the Ferguson decision he will not simply be able to put an end to it. As a former law professor at an elite university, he also knows that, according to current law, the proceedings in Ferguson are unobjectionable from a legal point of view, despite the controversy over both the way they were conducted and their outcome.

Perhaps it is indeed difficult for Obama, who was often described as the herald of a "post-racial society," to adopt a clear position after the events in Ferguson. The president is an analytical man, and as such he will certainly be very aware that however he reacts - everything he says, every emotion he shows - will be analyzed and commented on a thousand times over. There is a lot is at stake here. Opinion polls show that the country is deeply divided over the Ferguson decision.

Historic responsibility

But this is the very reason why Obama needs to speak out. As the first black president of the United States, it is not just that he is effectively predestined to situate the events of Ferguson within the wider context of the ongoing race problem in the United States. It is also Obama's historic duty. His scant comments after the grand jury decision are inadequate, given the significance of the topic and his position as president.

Despite numerous incidents during his period in office, Obama has not adequately addressed the problem of racial inequality in the United States. There have been neither pioneering measures nor any truly trailblazing speeches. And that is from a president who has delivered significant and even moving speeches about the relationship with the Arab world, for example, in Cairo in 2009, or after the mass shooting in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2013.

Race as an election topic

Thoough Obama made some impromptu, personal remarks about race in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin trial last year, his last major speech on the problem of race was a long time ago. In 2008, when he was still a presidential candidate, Obama came under heavy public pressure to justify himself after controversial remarks made by his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, which could have derailed his election campaign. Obama gave a convincing speech on the issue of race and managed to turn the corner, saving his candidacy.

After the events in Ferguson and the protests all across the country, Obama is now, as in 2008, being hounded by the race problem. Unlike then, however, this is not a question of his own personal advancement, but the good of the country. As president he must now demonstrate leadership and address the subject.

It is time Obama went to Ferguson. A speech to the people there is not going to eradicate the race problem, but it's the least Americans expect from their president now - and not only them. The whole world is watching.