So What Do the Gates Calls Show?
Now we know. Police in Cambridge, Mass. have made public the 911 cell phone conversation that led to Harvard University Professor Gates' arrest at his home. Now we know that the concerned citizen who called police did not identify Gates and his driver as black men.
So based on this new information, should we now conclude that race was no factor in the case? Should we now conclude that police would have acted in the exact same fashion had Gates been a white man?
We will never know for sure, but one thing is certain: there is some reason to suggest that police behavior -- in Boston, in Chicago, in New York, in any major city in this country -- is affected by racial stereotypes.
Indeed, lots of human behavior is affected by racial stereotypes.
Henry Louis Gates, while a highly-respected intellectual, stands in our society as a black man. We cannot ignore the fact that black men, and black women, are often treated differently.
Take for example, the college students I teach.
My students -- most of whom are black -- tell me repeatedly that when they walk into any store in the mall, they are not seen first of all as upstanding young people from the state university, many of whom carry GPAs of 3.5 or above. They are seen instead as young black kids who might rip off merchandise from store shelves.
Thus, the black students say that they are often followed. And asked, in a pointed way, what exactly they are shopping for in the store.
This past semester, teaching at Georgetown, in a class that was completely white, I asked the students -- same age, same basic profile (smart college kids) -- if they are followed when they shop.
None of them reported ever having had that experience.
So, do we have, in the Gates' case, a perfectly appropriate police reaction?
I don't know, and I'm not sure anyone else knows either.
But consider this: how news reports are hammering Gates for his "unruly" and "uncooperative" reaction to police.
If some cop comes to your door and tells you to leave your home would you be upset? Would you perhaps get a little unruly? Might you be a tad "uncooperative"?
As I understand it, Gates called Harvard University security to come to his assistance, to attest to his identity. To me, that was smart thinking.
Are we holding Gates to a different standard?
Are we holding the President to an unfair expectation? Should we expect him to deny his own experience as a black man and pretend that racial profiling doesn't plague modern society?
For a wonderful commentary linking the Gates' case with the astonishing effort among "birthers" who persist in challenging Obama's place of birth, read Stanley Fish's opinion piece today in The New York Times.
Follow Claudia Ricci on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RicciCJ
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Here's the truth..911 caller downplays call..does
This is backed up by the caller..sh
The teachable moments..d
The radio dispatch audio records Sgt. Crowley asking dispatch to send Harvard University police.
Regarding racial profiling: As a woman, I have to weigh the danger of meeting a black man on a street late at night and the risk of offending him if I cross the street to lessen danger. If I cross the street, some blacks see that as offensive and profiling. If I ignore those concerns or risk of danger, I put myself at risk.
When the history of police abuse is raised as a reason that Dr. Gates was afraid and acted out the way he did, then how is that different? If he saw Sgt. Crowley and said the hairs stood up on the back of his neck, and he sensed he was in danger -- how is that any different or more excusable than my fear and desire to cross the street?
As much as we don't want to admit those feelings and fears exist, they do - because like the writer noted, they are based on experiences of ourselves and others. I think this is good then, that President Obama is hosting the two men at the White House for a beer.
The only way we can conquer the fears and work through it is to try to get to know each other better, to build the relationships within the community.
Very thoughtful comments. Fanned.
Part II:
This case reminds of so many others where unidentified black men are blamed for heinous acts actually committed by whites. Sgt. Crowley had to invent the two black men on the porch to justify his abusive use of force and power. He also thought it necessary to racialize Gates himself, putting stereotypical statements in the mouth of one of the most eloquent person on the planet. Yet, the sad thing is that people actually believed him. And Sgt. Crowley knew that would be the case. As a teacher of racial profiling, he had intimate knowledge of how to deploy racial stereotypes in support of his criminal behavior.
Crowley is more than a rogue cop. He sounds more like a psychopath. Just think, he is still roaming the street with a gun on his hip. Unbelievable. He is the criminal; not Skip Gates.
Part I:
I am astonished that no one seems to understand the implications of these revelations. Once you listen to the 911 call, you realize that Sgt. Crowley's statement in his police report that she saw "what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch" is an outright lie. It was Sgt. Crowley that introduced race into this episode, so as to justify his unlawful act. After all, if someone saw two black males with backpacks on a porch in a white community using their shoulder to push in a door, then send for SWAT and the green berets.
Many black people could see through Sgt. Crowley's racist language as not being authentically black. The way that Sgt. Crowley wrote sounded like a white guy pretending to be a black guy. The difference is subtle, but clearly perceptible to most blacks (but unfortunately, not perceptible at all to most whites).
You are completely, absolutely 100% correct. It's so sad that people actually think that Gates, 70 years old, well traveled, well educated, teaching at the most prominent university in the country - made stereotypical remarks or immediately reacted by calling Crowley a racist. Doesn't that just sound so incredibly unlikely.
What is really sad is the ferocity with which crowley supporters fought back. And it scares me. I feel like we're back in the 50s. I think Obama's remarks were intentional - to raise the point. But alas we see the country is still not ready. Obama had to backtrack - even for his own safety perhaps. These guys can legally carry guns, dontchaknow.
Here's something else the transcript shows: that police spokemodels will make stuff up to make the department look good in Cambridge and possibly elsewhere. Will the spokesmodel now apologize for dispensing untruths? In related news, see also 'testi-lying' by police in court....
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