What Do You Call A Black Man At Harvard?
Years ago, the answer to this question would be the n-word. Today it's Esquire, Doctor, Congressman, Professor or President. Unfortunately, the police in Cambridge did not receive that memo before they arrested Harvard Professor, Skip Gates, as he was treated as just another n-word by the police.
Cambridge is supposed to be liberal city, full of progressive intellectuals who look down on antiquated philosophies, such as racism. Scholars from all sorts of backgrounds come to Cambridge to study and teach at Harvard and MIT. The idea of Cambridge as a liberal, tolerant, progressive city stands in sharp contrast to the racial profiling that occurs there everyday, which was exposed by Gates' arrest.
What does it say about America if racial profiling occurs in one of its most progressive, racially tolerant cities?
Black people all across the country are constantly forced to show their ID's to police to justify their presence and prove they're not criminals. Black people are racially profiled in predominantly black neighborhoods as possible drug dealers or gang bangers and in white neighborhoods as possible thieves who don't belong in those communities.
Gates' arrest speaks as much to the racism of his neighbors in his upper class Cambridge neighborhood as it does to racial profiling by the Cambridge police. If an elderly white man was struggling with the door to his house as Gates was, one might think his neighbors would probably offer to help him or at least find out what was going on, rather than calling 911 to report a possible break in. In Massachusetts, the presence of a black male in a wealthy community in any capacity is enough to make a nosy racist neighbor call the police on him.
Gates's arrest for "disorderly conduct" stems from his interaction with the officer who came to his house. The arresting officer, Crowley, has a reputation in Cambridge for racially profiling and harassing African Americans. The fact that Gates had to show his ID to prove that he lived in his own house and was not, in fact a criminal who was robbing it, is bad enough, arresting him for getting angry about it added insult to injury. If a 60 year old white man came to the door voluntarily I doubt he would be asked to show ID to prove he lived there.
According to Gates' friend and Harvard colleague, Professor Charles Ogletree, after being asked for his ID, Gates repeatedly asked Crowley for his badge number as was his right to do.
The arresting officer, Crowley had this to say about the incident, "While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me." Crowley also claimed that Gates yelled at him and was being disorderly. Ogletree said the same thing in much in different terms, saying Gates "expressed his frustration at being subjected to the threat of arrest in his own home."
For a man as distinguished as Gates to be forced to prove he was actually a Harvard Professor, who actually lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood, could be frustrating. The disorderly conduct charges seem to stem from the officer taking offense at Gates' claim about racial profiling. If Crowley had gone through some racial sensitivity training, maybe he would not be surprised that Gates was angry at perceived racial profiling. To be feel you are being treated as a common criminal because of your race is very hurtful and dehumanizing, especially for someone like Gates who might not have to deal with that type of police racism as much as other African Americans.
I talked to a black Cambridge cop about racial profiling in Cambridge recently. He told me that while all police officers in Cambridge racially profile, black officers were smarter about it. He elaborated saying that while black officers check clothes, age, and demeanor of men while profiling African Americans, white officers were "stupid about it" and simply profiled all African Americans, without any regard to the rest of their appearance. This explains why a well groomed, 60-year-old man wearing a blazer and glasses would get the same treatment as a young black man with baggy pants and a doo-rag in Cambridge.
Gates has written a lot bout race and class. In his books and PBS specials, he talks about, in some ways, relating more to his white neighbors and colleagues than to working class blacks. If anything, his arrest was a reminder of the fact that despite his house on the Vineyard, accolades, golf club membership, and tenure at Harvard, in the eyes of the law he was still another black man who was probably a criminal and that he had more in common with working class African Americans than he thought.
When I was 17, I was arrested for trespassing in Cambridge, simply for hanging out on my own friend's steps. The arrest came not long after I was accepted to Columbia University and was named a merit scholar finalist. When you're an African American who has achieved success in the mostly white world of academics and managed to achieve acceptance into white establishments, being racially profiled is a grim reminder to what most working class African Americans are constantly reminded to every day; that in the eyes of police officers you are threats to society and possible criminals.
In an interview I did with Harvard Professor Ogletree last year, he said of Obamas' election, "It doesn't mean, as some of my dearest friends say, that we're in a post racial era, so if you and I walked out this building right now, we know we're going to be profiled in parts of Cambridge."
If one good thing can come out of the arrest, it is that upper class educated African Americans will realize that racial profiling is problem that affects us all. Educated affluent African Americans, who have access to lawyers and the media that most working class African Americans do not, will hopefully lead the fight against racial profiling of all African American men, not just Harvard Professors. The arrest has prompted Gates to take on the problem of racial profiling. Skip Gates has the bully pulpit to expose racial profiling and police harassment and his arrest has prompted him to use it.
"There are one million black men in jail in this country and last Thursday I was one of them, This is outrageous and that this is how poor black men across the country are treated everyday in the criminal justice system. It's one thing to write about it, but altogether another to experience it." Gates said in an interview with the Washington Post.
The arrest has prompted Skip Gates to start a PBS documentary on racial profiling. Hopefully this will give voices not only to the upper class African Americans who are profiled in there own neighborhoods, despite their nice cars, nice clothes and money but regular working class African Americans who are forced to show their ID's and are searched, and arrested on trivial charges every day.
http://www.tremblethedevil.com/my_weblog/2009/04/even-without-lies-the-damage-is-already-done.html
1. The White House is further distracted from health care.
2. Professor Gates (who should know better) is dragged into a pissing contest
3. The Cambridge cop is now the "Joe the Plumber" of '09 and will be vilified by the wing-nuts of the left as a racist and lauded as a working class hero by the crazies of the far right.
Mainly, though, the big mistake was Obama's for taking the bait. He could have limited his response to "it was obviously an unfortunate incident" and can the personalization and characterizations.
Our President had better stay focused; there are far too many people with a vested interest in and rooting for his failure.
He messed up in a number of ways:
-- He let Gates get to him. Gates was physically harmless so no matter how objectionable or offending his words, the officer should have let them slide off him.
-- Only officers were present. The officer should have noted this fact and not arrested Gates for a crime where there needs to be a victim (the public in this situation).
He did not perceive the situation as potentially controversial (a burglary suspect claiming to be a Harvard professor) and on determining so proceed to handle the call differently than a run-of-th-mill burglary call.
He messed up in not diffusing the situation, calming Gates down, for example. Instead he fanned the flames and made things worse.
He messed up by making things personal. He arrested Gates simply because he did not like a black man being disrespectful and/or Gates flunked the attitude test, as officers like to say.
He messed up by not calling his supervisor, a lieutenant or captain at he station, to get advice on what to do. Even though he was a sergeant, meaning he was on-scene commander, the situation warranted a call to his supervisors once he saw the matter escalate.
Yes, he owes an apology and Obama was right, the officer acted stupid (see above).
Not correct. There were witnesses outside at the time of the arrest.
The officer acted properly and responsibly at all times.
Obama made an inflammatory comment about a racially charge situation after admitting he did not know all the facts. That was recklessly irresponsible.
The police will back the officer as they saw noting wrong with coaxing a man out of his own home just to arrest him because he hurt the officer's little feelings.
Racism? I dunno, but I do feel that Andy Taylor, with his level-headed common sense, was needed to answer the call. Unfortunately, it was Deputy Barney Fife who came and started with his abuse of power. That's all I really see. An officer who should be on desk duty instead of on the streets. It does not seem that he is qualified for that type of service.
Pushing papers may be better suited for the officer.
After the police arrived, they asked Mr. Gates for an ID. Is race involved in this? I would believe not. If someone called the police about my house being broken into, I hope the police ask the person who they are and if they belong. If it is me, I'd be happy to give ID to prove it.
After Mr. Gates showed his ID, the police thanked him, and walked away. It was Mr. Gates that got belligerent with the police as they were walking away. Instead of acting like a professor, he acted like the street thug everyone now feels the police treated him like. It was not until Mr. Gates bumped into a police officer while yelling at him and asking for his ID that things got out of hand.
Could the police have handled it better? Probably. From what I heard things escalated after the police tried to leave the scene. But it still escalated. Both sides got heated. But to call Gates a "Professor" when he acted the way he did really misses the point. If he had acted with dignity, he would have never gotten arrested.
"If an elderly white man was struggling with the door to his house..., one might think his neighbors would probably offer to help him or at least find out what was going on, rather than calling 911 to report a possible break in." He's basically calling the concerned citizen, who will probably always look the other way from now on, racist. Aren't we told to call 911 instead of taking matters into our own hands? Maybe not his planet.
"If a 60 year old white man came to the door voluntarily I doubt he would be asked to show ID to prove he lived there." So wrong! That's their duty! On my planet, we have devices called "burglar alarms". They're not perfect, they malfunction. When the police come, we're always asked for our ID. They don't say, "You don't look like a burglar. Sorry to bother you.".
Maybe Gates was tired , cranky and ill, and got a little carried away. Maybe the cop got carried away too, because Gates was harrassing him when he was only doing his job and ensuring his property was safe. Should the police have ignored the call? Should passersby ignore suspicous activity? That's what all this brouhaha is encouraging.
WTF are we waiting for!!!!
To imply that because Professor Gates was well-dressed that the cop should just have said "Ok" and walked away from the situation is crazy. Shockingly enough the policeman also didn't know who Mr. Gates was or about his house on the vineyard or golf membership. That sure is racist.
If Mr. Gane-McCalla lives in the people's republic of Cambridge as he says, then he knows that the police there receive more sensitivity training than ninety percent of the police forces in the rest of the country. Mr. Gates should be thankful that someone was looking out for his property and that the cops were on the job.
The Proof is in The Pudding ! End of Conversation ! Peace !
If that were true, we'd not be having this discussion.
I don't know why they always have to feel they are the star of the show. How delusional, when all of history shows great creative genious in various races and nations. Grow up and learn some respect of others, if yuou are to serve in the communities for the public. Yes, there are "black "men-noir-ities") too.
Not racits but, wouldn't it be better to have the patrolmen of urban communities, of the same race to stop this, if there is NO other way to STOP it.
Mentors in law enforcement could have a better understanding of the youth and like in our days, help them to obtain summer jobs and recreational events to bring the community closer and give them more respect for the officers, in charge of protecting them from crime and bullyism.
When one has a stake in the community, they really do better as mentors.
I believe the DEA and police officers should be tested for enhancement steroids and drugs the same as any other worker on the job.
TThis white supremacy, ego sh8, has to be coming from somewhere.
Maybe they are "mad dog meth" heads with a badge.
Professor?
I am a child of the civil rights movement, spent a lot of time in South Central as a child, have a step-uncle of the colored persuasion who taught Physics at U.S.C., who was married to an equally colored woman who brought Balinese dance to the USA. I'm of the not-so-colored persuasion but I'm not so blind as to fail to see the regular rounds of racism & profiling going on at the time---the mid-sixties. And once you see it, you can't un-see it.
Great article.
This comment hints at an attitude I'm picking up in a lot of articles written about Gates by black professionals. The notion that there is a split in the black community, at least young professionals or black men of some accomplishment imagine there is. The outrage is partly that blacks are unfairly profiled generally, but there is also a sense that black men like Gates or the author are a little ticked off to be lumped together with "other" black men.
I think the conclusion of this article points in the right direction. Now that there are many black men and women of means and status, it is important to confront the civil rights issues facing the black community, rather than withdraw into a 2 tiered class structure within the black community.
Hopefully all police, black and white, will treat a black man respectfully and fairly regardless of how he's dressed, rather than learn to be more "sophisticated" and only to target those not wearing a blazer for unfair, unnecessary stops and questioning.