The White House marked the beginning of Black History Month Wednesday with a pledge by President Trump to curb violence and poverty in America's inner cities.

Nearly 20 administration officials and African-American supporters of Trump gathered in the Roosevelt Room for what was described as a "listening session" for the president and his team.

Trump agreed with one attendee, Cleveland Pastor Darrell Scott, who said he had been contacted by gang leaders in Chicago who are desperate to put an end to the violence they witness each day.

"They reached out to me because they associated me with you. They respect you, they believe in what you're doing and they want to have a sit-down about lowering that body count," he told the president, who said meeting with gang leaders and developing new social programs would be "a great idea."

After briefly reflecting on his experience traveling to inner cities during the campaign, Trump told attendees that he is determined to address the rampant crime situation in metropolitan areas like Chicago.

"If they're not going to solve the problem ... then we're going to solve the problem for them," Trump said. "Because we're going to have to do something."

The president noted that his administration is also looking into ways to improve educational institutions in urban areas, saying: "We're going to need better schools and we need them soon."

"We're going to make it much better than it is right now," Trump told participants.

Wednesday's meeting included Vice President Pence; incoming Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson; Omarosa Manigault, director of communications for the White House Office of the Public Liaison; and nine other administration officials.

The following African-American Trump supporters were also in attendance: