Gates' and Crowley's confrontation was a clash of egos in which pride and prejudice -- on both sides -- came into play.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson | Posted 08.27.2009 | Politics
Obama spoke from the heart and said what needed to be said about the thorny issue of racial profiling. No apology needed for that. He just said it in the wrong case and at the wrong time.
Huffington Post | Posted 08.27.2009 | Politics
UPDATE: There are several reports that the beer diplomacy between President Obama, Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley and Henry Louis Gates Jr. ...
Natalie Holder-Winfield | Posted 08.26.2009 | Politics
Given the opportunity for improved police-community relations, it's actually a good thing that Sgt. Crowley didn't know who he was "messing" with.
Geoffrey R. Stone | Posted 08.26.2009 | Politics
When a police officer approaches a home where a burglary may be in progress, it is both rational and racist for him to think differently about the situation depending on whether the suspects are black or white.
Adam Winkler | Posted 08.25.2009 | Politics
One thing is clear: Gates did not violate any law. Under Massachusetts law, which the police officer was supposedly enforcing, yelling at a police officer is not illegal.
Jennifer Donahue | Posted 08.25.2009 | Politics
The problem isn't so much what happened with Crowley and Gates. A greater problem is the divide between famous and easily identifiable people of color and those with no defense.
Ray Hanania | Posted 08.24.2009 | Politics
When you look past the argument over race, you can see that a homeowner's rights were trampled on by the investigating and then arresting officer.
Karen Finney | Posted 08.24.2009 | Politics
The incident in Cambridge comes on the heels of a number of incidents over the past several months that reminded us of the unfinished business race and prejudice in our country.
Lennard Davis | Posted 08.24.2009 | Politics
If we make the assumption that racism was in play in this event, but that Crowley was not necessarily a racist, we might also assume that class and social status was at play as well.
Michael J. O'Neil | Posted 08.24.2009 | Politics
Was this an instance of racial profiling? Did Gates overreact to a reasonable police request? The truth is that we simply do not have enough information to know what really happened in this case.
Peter Daou | Posted 08.24.2009 | Media
When Obama weighed in, the Gates story went from newsworthy to explosive. Is this another instance of the media's lopsided priorities, where a debate over health care is overshadowed by a minor police incident?
Anna Kelner | Posted 08.21.2009 | Green
A subway could not only cleanse Los Angeles' polluted air and clear its congested roads, but could also radically change the way Angelinos relate to one another.
Christine Huang | Posted 08.21.2009 | Media
When is race roleplay and cultural appropriation okay? When is it acceptable, and when is it derogatory?
Jim Wallis | Posted 08.20.2009 | Politics
In the story of creation in Genesis we see that the image of God is best reflected not through sameness, but through the breadth that exists within the grand diversity of creation.
Rinku Sen | Posted 08.16.2009 | Politics
The essential challenge facing the NAACP is being a racial justice leader in a multiracial nation.
Marie Wilson | Posted 08.15.2009 | Politics
These proceedings may serve to discourage a generation of women from following in Sotomayor's trailblazing footsteps precisely because of the treatment they are witnessing.
C. Nicole Mason | Posted 08.15.2009 | Politics
Racial and ethnic minorities and women are the only groups asked to check their identity at the door. It is assumed that once given access to power, they will try to funnel those resources to their own kind.
The New Haven Independent | Posted 08.15.2009 | Politics
As firefighter Frank Ricci arrived in the nation's capital for his moment in the spotlight, U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch came to the his defense against an a...
Sally Kohn | Posted 08.14.2009 | Politics
Instead of criticizing Judge Sotomayor for seeing race in America, we should be asking: Why don't the rest of us?
Nathaniel Frank | Posted 08.14.2009 | Politics
The implication of Sessions' inquisition was that, as a white male with no distinguishing "heritage" to speak of, he and his ilk can make judgments totally free of feelings, belief, or experience.
Eric Deggans | Posted 08.14.2009 | Politics
The GOP decries Sotomayor's statements about heritage, but in 2005 another Supreme Court nominee told the Senate that in discrimination cases, he often takes into account his own family's history.
NY Times | PATRICK McGEEHAN and MATHEW R. WARREN | Posted 08.13.2009 | New York
Unemployment among blacks in New York City has increased much faster than for whites, and the gap appears to be widening at an accelerating pace, new ...
Charles D. Ellison | Posted 08.10.2009 | Politics
The Valley Club swimming incident reminds us of the Philly we grew up with and still know; that plain-spoken, steely segregated union town where the racial and economic demographics are very clear cut.
Nicolaus Mills | Posted 08.09.2009 | Politics
The tributes to Jackson have come with a high political price. They have deflected attention from the most racially charged and economically important Supreme Court decision in years.
Denise Dennis | Posted 08.27.2009 | Politics