Charges Dropped Against Racially Profiled Harvard Professor

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Famous Harvard Professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr, who has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show, was arrested for breaking into his own home, after a neighbor, who may not have recognized him, noticed him and a friend, trying to gain entry into the residence.

It is understandable that a neighbor would call the police, but the trouble arrived when the cops began to aggressively question Gates, who took umbrage at being interrogated in his own home in such a manner. When the officer told him he wished to question him outside, Gates hilariously told him, "I'd like to question your mama outside!"

Not amused, they arrested him, even though he showed his drivers license and Harvard I.D., confirming it is indeed his address and home. Gates believes the incident was racially motivated.

The police have since dropped the charges, but it has left many crying racism, stating had it been a white man in the same situation, in his own home, he would not have been arrested.

He reminds me of journalist Leonard Pitts

Gates was arrested for exercising his right to free speech in his own home, facing unreasonable questioning and searches. He did not attack or threaten the police. All he did was give a smart aleck answer to what he deemed a demeaning question.

I think he should sue. Your home is your castle and under the law, you can't be arrested for breaking into your own property, as it is yours and that would be an oxymoron. America is also a free country, where non-threatening speech is permissible without legal penalty.

Had he not become President, this could have just as easily been Obama, a well educated black man trying to pry his front door open, after a trip overseas, returning home to find the entry jammed.

As I stated last week, just because Obama became the first black President, doesn't mean the nation's racial ills have automatically been solved.

When black kids are discriminated against, turned away from a club pool available to all that pay the entrance fee as they did, like we're still in the Civil Rights era, where blacks and whites were not allowed to use the same facilities and a Congressperson uses the N-Word, there is still work to be done.

Yes, millions voted for Obama, many of whom are white. However, there are still some in America and all over the world, who continue to hold on to prejudices. Much has been accomplished in the way of race relations, but the world, not just America, still has a way to go.  

Henry Louis Gates arrested, charges dropped

Here's a disturbing report: Henry Louis Gates Jr., a prominent Harvard scholar of African-American history, was arrested last week at his Cambridge, Mass., home after police were called about a possible break-in.

Today, local officials said the charges would not be pursued, but the whole episode is unsettling for someone who has written several books on the black experience in America...

Charles Ogletree, a Harvard Law professor who is Gates' lawyer in the case, told CNN today that Gates had returned from China on Thursday to his home and discovered his front door jammed. He opened his back door with his key and tried unsuccessfully from inside his home to open the front door.

That's when a police officer appeared and asked Gates for identification. Gates apparently balked at being questioned about his own home, and it all spiraled out of control from there.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates accuses police of racism over arrest

Tuesday 21 July 2009 02.16 BST - A black Harvard professor, who has been named by Time magazine as one of the top 25 most influential Americans, accused police of racism after he was arrested trying to get into his own home.

Henry Louis Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct after police said he "exhibited loud and tumultuous behaviour". He was later released.

The head of Harvard's WEB DuBois Institute for African and American Studies, shouted to a police officer "this is what happens to a black men in America" according to a police report.

The incident happen last Thursday after a call to police that "two black males" were breaking into Gates's home near the university campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts...

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Racial profiling is alive and well

July 22, 2009 - THE ARREST of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. after he was confronted by police while trying to open the front door to his home is the latest reminder that racism is alive and well even in the most wealthy and progressive enclaves of Massachusetts. Although the criminal charges against Gates were dropped yesterday, the incident is the latest clue - for those who need one - that we’re a long way from being a “post-racial’’ society in Massachusetts...

http://www.boston.com