Exclusive: Obama on Reverend, Race and When He Was Ashamed For His Own Community

Obama believes that the controversial video of Wright, which has angered many, is not representative of the preacher himself. "[It] was a caricature," he said. "For all his good qualities [Rev. Wright] is somebody that I've had strong disagreements with for a very long time, but he's somebody who helped to introduce me to my Christian faith. He is somebody who married Michelle and I. He baptized our kids."

"And my point, I think, was that you don't disown certainly the church, but you don't even disown a man simply because he says something that you profoundly and deeply disagree with. What I can do is condemn the words, but not condemn the man."

O.J. Simpson and 'Unproductive Anger'

Obama points to the trial of O.J. Simpson to exemplify past divisions between blacks and whites.

Related

The Note

WATCH: Obama Confronts Race Issues

Obama in Cross Hairs for Pastor Remarks

"During the O.J. trial, there was a similar moment when the culture — you know, black and white culture — just had these completely opposite reactions and nobody understood it," he said, admitting his belief that Simpson was guilty.

"And I was ashamed for my own community to respond in that way, but I also understood what was taking place, which was that reaction had more to do with a sense that somehow the criminal justice system historically had been biased so profoundly that a defeat of that justice system was somehow a victory.

"Now, that is an example of how unproductive that anger is and how we have to get beyond it, but it's there. And so, that's why I said during the speech, in some ways for me to completely disown Reverend Wright is for me to disown the African-American community, because he embodies all the contradictions."

Black and White: 'I've Got a Foot in Each Camp'

For Obama, his speech was an opportunity to say out loud, in public, what Americans say in private within their different groups.

"And hopefully," he said, "I accurately captured not just what blacks say privately, but of what whites say privately ... One strength I do have is that I've got a foot in each camp, right? You know, since I'm half-white and was raised by a white mom and white grandparents, I have a little more insight into those white resentments, again that are also rooted in history, and some of which are legitimate."

Obama said he considers himself an American first, rather than primarily a black man. He also doesn't distinguish between black patriotism and white patriotism, but he does see a difference in how each group has experienced America.

"What I think is that the African-American community is much more familiar with some of the darker aspects of American life and American history, and so the African-American community can express great rage and anger about this country and love it all the same, in a way that probably is less familiar to white America."

While he believes blacks may be more familiar with the darker aspects of American history, he says it is not an excuse to express anti-American sentiments, either.

"It doesn't excuse it, it just describes a reality," Obama said. I think it is very important — for white America to understand that this anger is not based on nothing. The anger is based on slavery and Jim Crow and a history that continues to have powerful sway over our daily lives.