The service will take place at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
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President Barack Obama called Sunday for greater tolerance, respect and understanding from police officers toward the people they are sworn to protect, as well as from individuals who think the police are too heavy-handed and intolerant, particularly toward people of color.
President Obama told reporters in Spain today that protest as has been seen over the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile “is sometimes messy and controversial”, but “because of that ability to protest and engage in free speech, America, over time, has gotten better”.
He plans meetings in Madrid with acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (mah-ree-AH’-noh rah-HOY’) and other government officials.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday that the U.S. government has to improve its cyber security practices for the modern age of smart phones and other technology, saying that hackers had targeted the White House.
[Image: Queen Letizia of Spain and U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images]The First Lady shared stories of girls she had met during her prior travels and spoke of new commitments to help the more than 62 million girls around the world who are not getting an education. The stop in Spain is the last leg of what is likely the president’s final trip to Europe before he leaves office in January.
Spain is also experiencing an extended political stalemate, with Rajoy unable since December to get enough support to form a new coalition government.
The White House says the visit will highlight security cooperation between the two nations and a strong political and economic relationship. It was the country’s second round of inconclusive balloting in the past year.
Obama flew from Poland, where he attended a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit.
Rajoy’s conservative People’s Party (PP) failed to win a parliamentary majority in a repeat election last month, meaning the deadlock is set to continue with the possibility of a third round of elections in the future.
Obama’s meeting with Rajoy came as Spain grapples with high unemployment and remains in the grip of a political crisis sparked by two general elections that produced no clear victor. “We know that we have had hackers in the White House”, he added.
“There are legitimate issues that have been raised, and there’s data and evidence to back up the concerns that are being expressed by these protesters”, he said. “That’s why the United States is deeply committed to maintaining our relationship with a strong, unified Spain”.
He said he has longed to return to Spain ever since he passed through while backpacking across Europe decades ago, during his 20s, but that the “horrific shootings in the United States require that I cut my time here short”.
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Obama, speaking in Madrid, said any violence against police was “a reprehensible crime and needs to be prosecuted”. He said he could not have imagined that he’d return years later and be greeted by royalty.
