Barack Obama's profound quotes on race could not be more different to Donald Trump's Twitter rants

In the last eight years as US president, Barack Obama has delivered some insightful and moving speeches on race relations in America, addressing issues such as police shootings, the Black Lives Matter movement and criminal justice reform.

Comparatively, Donald Trump's reflections on race issues have largely been under 140 characters, with his path to the White House characterised by outbursts on Twitter which have frequently led to accusations of racism and xenophobia.

On Inauguration Day, here are some of the most memorable quotes and tweets.

"Racism. We are not cured of it. And it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say 'nigger' in public. That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don't overnight completely erase everything that happened 200-300 years prior."

Obama on a WTF with Marc Maron podcast in June 2015.

"We need to recognise that the situation in Ferguson speaks to broader challenges that we still face as a nation. The fact is, in too many parts of this country, a deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of colour. Some of this is the result of the legacy of racial discrimination in this country. And this is tragic, because nobody needs good policing more than poor communities with higher crime rates."

Obama's November 2014 statement on the grand jury decision on the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

"I think the reason that the organisers use the phrase 'black lives matter' was not because they were suggesting that no one else's lives matter. Rather, what they were suggesting was there is a specific problem that is happening in the African-American community that isn't happening in other communities. And that is a legitimate issue that we have to address."

Obama speaking at a public White House discussion about criminal-justice reform in October 2015.

"After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. For race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. I've lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10, or 20, or 30 years ago—you can see it not just in statistics, but in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum.

But we're not where we need to be. All of us have more work to do. After all, if every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and undeserving minorities, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves."

Obama's farewell address in January 2017.