President Barack Obama, in an impassioned eulogy for the pastor of the historic black church where nine people were gunned down during a Bible study meeting last week, bluntly called Friday for a national reckoning on racial bias in America and new political action on gun safety measures.

Mr. Obama delivered an emotional address memorializing the late Rev. Clementa Pinckney and lamenting what he described as a persistent divisions in the country that stem from a history of “systemic oppression and racial subjugation” symbolized by the continued display of the Confederate flag.

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But Mr. Obama’s overarching message was larger. In a speech carried on national television and in front of top national leaders, including Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), he challenged policy makers to act on gun-control measures and racial disparities in poverty, employment and the criminal justice system.

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“For too long, we’ve been blind to the unique mayhem that gun violence inflicts upon this nation,” Mr. Obama said, listing some of the dozen shootings he’s had to publicly address since taking office in 2009. “The vast majority of Americans, the majority of gun owners want to do something about this. We see that now.”

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