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By Alexandra Jaffe, CNN

updated 3:06 PM EST, Thu December 4, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama on Thursday said that the recent events surrounding the deaths of two black men at the hands of white police officers underscore that "too many Americans feel deep unfairness" with respect to the criminal justice system.

"When it comes, as we've seen unfortunately in recent days, to our criminal justice system, too many Americans feel deep unfairness when it comes to the gap between our professed ideals and how the laws are applied on a day to day basis," he said during an address during the White House's College Opportunity Day of Action.

The Grand Jury decision not to indict the police officer who killed Eric Garner, an African American father of six, sparked protests throughout New York City and across the nation Wednesday night, just over a week after another acquittal in the death of a black teen at the hands of a white police officer prompted similar unrest across the nation.

Obama said he called New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday night to commend him for the way he's handled protests that erupted in the city.

The events have inspired a nationwide discussion surrounding race and the criminal justice system, and prompted Obama to host community leaders and elected officials at his office Monday to discuss solutions to the problem.

On Thursday, he again pledged to continue working to find a way to tackle the issues with law enforcement in the coming months.

But he characterized the challenge ahead as greater than simply reforming the criminal justice system and restoring a sense of justice rather, Obama said, there's a need to restore "a sense of common purpose" in America.

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Obama: 'Americans feel deep unfairness'