Shortly after riots and public unrest erupted in Baltimore, Hillary Clinton delivered her response at Columbia University on Wednesday.

"From Ferguson to Staten Island to Baltimore, the patterns have become unmistakable and undeniable," said Clinton according to CNN.

"Not only as a mother and grandmother, but as a citizen, a human being, my heart breaks for these young men and their families. We have to come to terms with some hard truths about race and justice in America. We have allowed our criminal justice system to get out of balance and these recent tragedies should galvanize us to come together as a nation to find out balance against."

Speaking at the David N. Dinkins Leadership and Public Policy Forum, this marks the first time the presidential candidate issued a public response to the death of Freddie Gray and the Baltimore riots.

Hillary also called for an end to "mass incarceration" and a review of sentencing measures.

"There is something profoundly wrong when African American men are still 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," said Clinton according to CBS. "There is something wrong when a third of all black men face the prospect of prison at some point during their lifetimes."

As noted by The New York Times contributors Amy Chozick and Michael Barbaro, the Baltimore riots will be a key talking point for most of the 2016 presidential candidates.

"I don't think any of the candidates want or expect the summer of 2015 to be like the summer of 1968," said Republican political strategist Rick Wilson.