Harvard Professor Arrested At Home
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| Tue, 07-21-2009 - 10:28am |
Police Report Says Henry Gates Called Officers Racist
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/20/AR2009072001358.html?nav=hcmodule
Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's most prominent African American scholars, was arrested last week at his home near Harvard University after trying to force open the locked front door.
According to a report by the police department in Cambridge, Mass., Gates accused police officers at the scene of being racist and said repeatedly, "This is what happens to black men in America." The incident was first reported by the Harvard Crimson.
Gates, the director of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Studies, has been away from his home much of the summer while working on a documentary called "Faces of America," said Charles Ogletree, a Harvard law professor and friend of Gates who is working as his lawyer. Gates returned from China last week and had trouble opening the front door with his key.
Gates, 58, was arrested Thursday by police looking into a possible break-in for disorderly conduct "after exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior" at his home, according to the police report. Officers said they tried to calm down Gates, who responded, "You don't know who you're messing with," according to the police report.
Ogletree said Gates was ordered to step out of his home. He refused and was followed inside by a police officer. After showing the officer his driver's license, which includes his address, Ogletree said Gates asked: "Why are you doing this? Is it because I'm a black man and you're a white officer? I don't understand why you don't believe this is my house." Ogletree said Gates was then arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and racial harassment.
Gates did not return calls to his office Monday, and the police department would provide no further details on the arrest. He was released four hours later, and arraignment has been scheduled for Aug. 26, but Ogletree said they hope to resolve the case sooner.
Gates is resting on Martha's Vineyard, according to Ogletree, and will soon resume traveling. He is scheduled to interview cellist Yo-Yo Ma, whose genealogy he was researching in China.
Gates, is a founder of the Root (http://www.theroot.com), a Web site owned by The Washington Post Co. He is also host and co-producer of "African American Lives," a Public Broadcasting Service show in which he uses genealogical resources and DNA testing to trace the family lineages of prominent black Americans. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1981 and was among Time magazine's "25 Most Influential Americans" in 1997.
Gates's arrest points to broader racial disparities in the criminal justice system, said Ryan S. King, a policy analyst at the Sentencing Project, a think tank that researches incarceration rates.
"If you look at every stage of the criminal justice system from initial police contact all the way through sentencing and incarceration, you see that African Americans are disproportionately impacted by each stage," King said. "What we ultimately see as disparate incarceration rates are contributed to by all of these factors."
As news of the arrest spread Monday from Harvard into broader academic circles, one professor who follows Gates's work said the arrest was both "not surprising" and "disheartening."
"I felt bad that I would hear about something like this happening, especially to someone as recognizable and distinguished as , but in the academy we still sometimes encounter that. I've been in situations where I encounter people who don't believe I'm a college professor," said Jelani Cobb, an associate professor of history at Spelman College in Atlanta. "We have obvious signs of progress, but we're not there."



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Not that many years ago the police in Boston or Cambridge broke into the home of an older black gentleman (they had the wrong address) and the home owner died from a heart attack induced by the aggressive arrest.
So, it's not like this incident with Gates is unique. It's a pattern.
Added:
http://www.drugsense.org/tfy/botched.htm
Edited 7/23/2009 7:14 pm ET by nisupulla
By police accounts, Gates was NOT willing to give proof of identity when first asked. And he apparently accused the officer of racism in fairly short order. Sounds like a lack of both temperate behavior and respect for the law. Crowley probably didn't take to kindly to that and might have been rash as well. Do you believe that all people who make accusations of racism must surely be right if they're black? Because there sure seems to be a LOT of that going on in this thread and I find myself getting increasingly annoyed by what seems an ill-founded assumption that IF a man makes enough noise, and IF he considers himself persecuted, it must surely follow that he WAS persecuted "out of spite". Simply DOES NOT FOLLOW regardless of the man's occupation or vaunted reputation.
You asked if I had ever been discriminated against on the basis of race. Yes. I added that whites are probably a minority in New Mexico where Hispanics and Native Americans make up a significant proportion of the population. Two separate facts.
Gate has been overtly wary of police and quick to assume the worst--it's clear from his past actions and words. I have no respect for the man based on how's he behaved in this episode. He seems hellbent on recriminations and demands for apologies, fueling the furor while blithely ignoring that police were trying to do their job. And I want to know. If this episode had happened to a white man, would we be having this flare-up of racial tensions? Why buy into the assumption that Gates must be right and the officer racist. Why? Why? Why?
I know Gates is a Harvard professor. Doesn't mean he's either infallible or worthy of great respect. Larry Summers was an president of Harvard. Whoopty doo dah. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/01/17/summers_remarks_on_women_draw_fire/
Jabberwocka
What if it had been a burglar? Nobody seems to be paying much attention to that distinct possibility. The only thing monumentally STUPID is everybody ignoring the context of the report of a burglary taking place and bending over backwards to exonerate Gates because a black professor would NEVER lose his temper and speak in confrontational manner to a police officer.
BTW, remind me again how the police knew that it was Gates' home. Here's a hint. They didn't.
Jabberwocka
Gee, do you think a family member might have a bias towards Gates? Good grief. He believed in the justice system? Does that include police? Because if so, his past actions and words very much belie that particular comment. Sounds to me like spin, spin, spin.
I don't like it coming from anybody.
Jabberwocka
~You asked if I had ever been discriminated against on the basis of race. Yes.~
You offered that you'd experienced reverse discrimination because you were a minority in an office... that's not discrimination of any sort.
Hey, you're not the Lone Ranger when it comes to various body parts hurting more than they used to.....ouch. Oh well, we're still alive n kickin', so I'll never complain about a sore shoulder.....:))
That was a good story about the officer helping you take that open parking spot. Must be because you're a woman.....trust me, no officer is going to do that for a male....at least I highly doubt it. I've been to the DC area several times....it always amazes me how hard it is to find a spot to park at on a street. There's a steak house I went to a few times....."Annie's Paramount Steakhouse" on 17th I believe. Always took forever to find a spot.
My wife is constantly bragging about never getting a ticket......she's been pulled over like 10 times.....all warning tickets......grrrrr. That really ticks me off too. I'd pay a couple hundred $$$'s just to see her get one. Not fair.....men should revolt! When I receive a
"I feel Gates' pain, ya know."
LOL You must be
Is it that evident?
Oh no, I blew my cover....lol. From the looks of a couple posts made after I signed off yesterday, there's a couple angry white women on here too......:)))))) Yeee Haaa.
It's Friday, so everyone should be in a chipper (I love that word) mood today. Obama changed his stance just a tad didn't he? After basically calling the police "stupid", he back slid a little since then and softened his wording. Just like a politician to do that, ya know.
"It's Friday, so everyone should be in a chipper "
I'm always chipper 'cause I retired. ;)
So, are you gonna throw that in my face about being retired, while I sit here slaving away at my job sista??
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