"There is something profoundly wrong when African-Americans men are far more likely to be stopped and searched by police, charged with crimes and sentenced to longer prison terms than are meted out to their white counterparts," Clinton said in a keynote speech at Columbia University's public policy and leadership forum.
Recalling numerous African-American victims of police brutality, from 12-year-old Tamir Rice to Baltimore resident Freddie Gray, Clinton said "we have to come to terms with hard truths about race and justice" in the United States.
"These recent tragedies should galvanize us to come together as a nation," Clinton added, hailing the calls for peace by Gray's mother following his funeral on Monday.
Freddie Gray, 25, was arrested on April 12 and died a week later as a result of spinal injuries he received while in police custody.
Riots erupted in Baltimore on Monday afternoon following Gray's funeral, spilling over into Tuesday and culminating in a state of emergency and a week-long curfew.
