Why is Obama going only to Dallas?

After the carnage in Dallas last week that left five police officers dead, the White House announced that President Obama would travel to Dallas for Tuesday’s memorial service.

Some are asking why isn’t he also going to Falcon Heights, Minn., and Baton Rouge, La., where Philando Castile and Alton Sterling died at the hands of police? These shootings are connected, if not forensically, most certainly for a grieving country.

A president who has had to talk so much about gun violence on his watch, and who so eloquently explained from Poland the data about the endangerment of black lives in America, needs to visit both Minnesota and Louisiana. To avoid either is to misread the pain that his most loyal constituency, black folk, are feeling in this present moment.

When President George W. Bush didn't get to New Orleans quickly enough in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, black folk raised holy hell, and Bush paid a heavy political price for his delay and seemingly callous fly-over.

Obama might very well unintentionally make some in the black community feel the same hurtful neglect if he misses this chance to help them heal. Moreover, he might regret years from now that he missed this particular opportunity and perhaps others as well on matters where race and gun violence intersected.

I don't envy the current challenge the president has to balance respect for law enforcement with a deeper appreciation for the sanctity of black life in America. However he chooses to navi- gate this terrain, he must continue his efforts, indeed double down, on his mission to get the guns under control.

We lose a little bit more of our humanity every time gun violence breaks out. Especially when those who volunteer to keep the peace are gunned down. The best of us are those who render service to the rest of us.

There are, of course, plenty of television shows about good cops who went rogue, seeking their own brand of justice, by any

means necessary. The Shield, True Detective, The Wire, Deadwood, Luther.

Cellphone video has now revealed to us true-life killer cops, and it’s making me think hard about who we're casting in these vitally important societal roles. Where the bullets are real, not fake. Where life and death decisions are consequential, not just another story arc to be continued next week.

We need high standards for all who take the coveted role of law enforcement. We need police officers who exercise good judgment and know how to dispense equal justice.

We can’t come into the fullness of our individual and collective humanity unless and until we can respect and revel in the humanity of every other human being.

That’s true for every citizen and every cop in this country. The president should make that explicit by visiting the places where both cops and citizens died.

Tavis Smiley is host and managing editor of Tavis Smiley on PBS, author of 50 For Your Future: Lessons From Down the Road and a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors.