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Racism charge as police arrest Harvard professor
Was Henry Louis Gates, a prominent African-American historian, the victim of racial profiling?
Colleagues of a senior black professor at Harvard University are accusing local police of racism after he was arrested at his home last week by an officer investigating a possible break-in.
Henry Louis Gates, who has taught at Harvard for nearly 20 years, arrived home last Thursday from a trip to China and found his front door jammed. With the help of his cab driver, another African-American, he forced the door open.
A few minutes later Sgt James Crowley of the Cambridge, Massachusetts police appeared at the door and asked Gates to step outside. According to his lawyer - Harvard law professor Charles J Ogletree - Gates explained that he lived there but the officer refused to take his word for it. Gates reportedly exclaimed, "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" and accused Sgt Crowley of racism.
Gates (pictured above with Jodie Foster), Harvard's most senior scholar of African-American history and named by Time magazine as one of the top 25 most influential Americans, was arrested for disorderly conduct after exhibiting "loud and tumultuous behaviour" but was later released.
Dr. S Allen Counter, a black professor at Harvard Medical School, said he and a number of his university colleagues were "deeply disturbed" about the apparent case of racial profiling by the police.
"My colleagues and I have asked the question of whether this kind of egregious act would have happened had Professor Gates been a white professor," said Counter. "We think that it has to be investigated." ·
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The action of the policeman was on the face of it unpardonable.Also, Mr Gates, a mature man by the above given accounts, ought to have acted more politely. Both were at fault. Then the President lets out a cry of 'foul' by the police which he ought to have kept to himself. All in all, the whole episode reflects the reality that racial prejudices cannot melt away in a jiffy. We, in India, continue to suffer prejudices on the basis of color even after thousands of years of inter mixing of the white Aryans and the dark native Indians, having produced a variety of mixed colors. People should accept it as a reality and move on.
Dinesh Chandra
The writer of this account, Jack Bremer, should be reprimanded for extremely inaccurate reporting. Even if he had read only the police report as a source of his information, he would have avoided some rather significant errors. First, Gates did not break into his home; the front door was damaged upon his return, so he entered from the rear door with his key, after which he and his cab driver attempted to force the front door open, presumably so they could get the suitcase in. Gates was calling maintenance when the cops showed up. Second, Gates DID show the officer his ID upon request (admittedly after accusing the officer of racial profiling). His ID (University credentials and driver's license) both bore his photo and home address. At that point, the officer should have simply told him all was clear and left. But Gates asked him for his badge. The officer ignored the request. This seemed to have upset Gates even more (why wouldn't the officer show his badge, as he is legally required to do?). Gates got very upset and seems to have used language that reflected his agitation. Again, the officer should simply have departed. Instead, he asked Gates to step outside. Gates should not have complied, because the officer seems only to have asked him to go outside in order to arrest him based on his "unruly behavior" (he could not have legally arrested Gates in his own home). Gates finally follows the cop to the front porch, and at this point seems to be yelling at the officer (for still not showing him his ID, and convinced that it was a case of racial profiling--but who wouldn't be upset? Much more a black man in this situation?) In short, there's a lot more than meets the eye here. I'm just going by Gates' account as recounted by a friend, and by the police report (which is a very suspicious read, I might add; the officer seems to be deliberatly hiding his own refusal to show his badge, claiming only that Gates continually asked him for "his name." Gates also seems to be downplaying his own anger in the report he passes on to his friend.) Bottom line, the cop behaved badly and allowed the situation to get out of hand. Mr. Gates also behaved in a less than admirable way, but I tend to think his response was perfectly understandable.