They don't even recognize him at Cambridge. A case of racial profiling

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard.html


Harvard professor Gates arrested at Cambridge home
July 20, 2009 05:55 PM Email| Comments (1229)| Text size – +

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling.

gates072009.jpg
Gates

Police arrived at Gates’s Ware Street home near Harvard Square at 12:44 p.m. to question him. Gates, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard, had trouble unlocking his door after it became jammed.

He was booked for disorderly conduct after “exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior,” according to a police report. Gates accused the investigating officer of being a racist and told him he had "no idea who he was messing with,'' the report said.

Gates told the officer that he was being targeted because "I'm a black man in America.''

* Gallery Who is Henry Louis Gates, Jr.?
* 3/17/04 Big man off campus
* 11/12/06 Q&A with Gates

Friends of Gates said he was already in his home when police arrived. He showed his driver’s license and Harvard identification card, but was handcuffed and taken into police custody for several hours last Thursday, they said.

The police report said Gates was arrested after he yelled at the investigating officer repeatedly inside the residence then followed the officer outside, where Gates continued to upbraid him. "It was at that time that I informed Professor Gates that he was under arrest,'' the officer wrote in the report.

Gates, 58, declined to comment today when reached by phone.

The arrest of such a prominent scholar under what some described as dubious circumstances shook some members of the black Harvard community.

“He and I both raised the question of if he had been a white professor, whether this kind of thing would have happened to him, that they arrested him without any corroborating evidence,” said S. Allen Counter, a Harvard Medical School professor who spoke with Gates about the incident Friday. “I am deeply concerned about the way he was treated, and called him to express my deepest sadness and sympathy.”

Counter, who had called Gates from the Nobel Institute in Sweden, where Counter is on sabbatical, said that Gates was “shaken” and “horrified” by his arrest.

Counter has faced a similar situation himself. The well-known neuroscience professor, who is also black, was stopped by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect as he crossed Harvard Yard. They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification.

That incident was among several that ignited criticism from black students and faculty, highlighting the prejudices that many black students say they continue to face at Harvard.

“This is very disturbing that this could happen to anyone, and not just to a person of such distinction,” Counter said. “He was just shocked that this had happened, at 12:44 in the afternoon, in broad daylight. It brings up the question of whether black males are being targeted by Cambridge police for harassment.”

Cambridge police would not comment on the arrest, citing an investigation into the incident by Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. A spokesman for Leone said Gates is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 26 and said the office could not provide details on the arrest until that time.

Gates is being represented by Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, who has taken on previous cases with racial implications.

Someone in my lab was just discussing this. How funny, I had a professor who went to Harvard and she informed our class how the police had openly said they would stop and question any group of black male they caught on the campus, student or not. However this is 2009. What are the possibilities that 50something year old would be breaking into a house around Harvard. I bet the neighbours called the police.

He should take it up in court.

And the police themselves if they are from Cambridge should at least have had an idea who Gates was. The question is, would the neighbor have called the police if the two alleged buglers were white?

I'm not suprised. This is Boston, neighbors call the police for everything from a stray cat to sightings of black people in a 'white' neighborhood [size=5pt]such as mine[/size] to a house party 

Both Gates and the Police were wrong. Gates should've simply identified himself and explained the situation instead of throwing the "do you know who I am" card. And the Police should not have overreacted and arrested him. They are notorious for showing off their 'power' when its uncalled for.

Any black person who lives here in Boston knows that is mostly 'white territory' and police are more suspicious of and hostile towards blacks. Unfortunately its a way of life here.
  and btw, Harvard is overrated anyways 

@ JeSoul[/co lor[color=#000099]]
Harvard is overrated anyways

REALLY?

JeSoul:

I'm not suprised. This is Boston, neighbors call the police for everything from a stray cat to sightings of black people in a 'white' neighborhood [size=5pt]such as mine[/size] to a house party

Both Gates and the Police were wrong. Gates should've simply identified himself and explained the situation instead of throwing the "do you know who I am" card. And the Police should not have overreacted and arrested him. They are notorious for showing off their 'power' when its uncalled for.

Any black person who lives here in Boston knows that is mostly 'white territory' and police are more suspicious of and hostile towards blacks. Unfortunately its a way of life here.

true.

However, he should still get a lawyer.

tpia.:

true.

However, he should still get a lawyer.

He already has Ogletree a black Harvard Law professor representing him.

there some truth in what JeSoul says about not just Boston but almost the whole of New England. The notion that New England is liberal, relatively better educated and accommodating of differences and diversity may be true only if one ignores the more institutional and systemic subtext of attitudes and behavior that may not be different from those one would get in Mississippi for Instance. the difference being that at least in the south, they will be open about it. The case of gates is audible because of who he is? How about many nondescript blacks who reside in such areas and lack the wherewithal in fame and education to attract such attention.

naliakar:

@ JeSoul
Harvard is overrated anyways

REALLY?

 Yup, really. Imho they are simply living off name recognition. Some of them are genuine hardworking students who get & stay in by merit . . . but waaay too many are just spoiled brats with trust funds.

 

tpia.:

true.

However, he should still get a lawyer.

 The problem I have with a lotta black people is that they cry racism at everything that happens so much so that many reasonable white people here have become desensitized. The result is when a legitimate case of racism comes up it will not get the attention or fury it deserves.

naliakar:

there some truth in what JeSoul says about not just Boston but almost the whole of New England. The notion that New England is liberal, relatively better educated and accommodating of differences and diversity may be true only if one ignores the more institutional and systemic subtext of attitudes and behavior that may not be different from those one would get in Mississippi for Instance. the difference being that at least in the south, they will be open about it. The case of gates is audible because of who he is? How about many nondescript blacks who reside in such areas and lack the wherewithal in fame and education to attract such attention.

Well said. Things are very different in New England compared to the rest of the country esp down south. I mean we are "liberal and educated and more accomodating' all those other things but truth be told, behind the facade many still harbor racist feelings.

And I think a lot has to do with the fact there isn't a large black population here. Too many white people just don't know how to relate or interact with blacks, couple that with the negative press they digest daily on black crime, attitude etc, it feeds the beast. I simply encourage other blacks to not be bothered about the stereotypes and simply go out and prove their illconceived notions wrong. Racism will always happen - it is an inescapable truth.

savanaha:

He already has Ogletree a black Harvard Law professor representing him.

good.

JeSoul:

Well said. Things are very different in New England compared to the rest of the country esp down south. I mean we are "liberal and educated and more accomodating' all those other things but truth be told, behind the facade many still harbor racist feelings.

And I think a lot has to do with the fact there isn't a large black population here. Too many white people just don't know how to relate or interact with blacks, couple that with the negative press they digest daily on black crime, attitude etc, it feeds the beast. I simply encourage other blacks to not be bothered about the stereotypes and simply go out and prove their illconceived notions wrong. Racism will always happen - it is an inescapable truth.

well, a white person would also sue if they felt they had reason to do so.

So his being black doesnt prevent him from seeking legal redress if he feels he was wronged.

It is analogous to mistaking Wole Soyinka for a Bugler at Abeoukuta and arresting him for shouting in his house.

naliakar:

It is analogous to mistaking Wole Soyinka for a Bugler at Abeoukuta and arresting him for shouting in his house.

Gbam!!

Charges dropped after all the ruckus. So why was he arrested in the first place?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/21/henry-louis-gates-jr-arre_n_242010.html

BOSTON — Prosecutors dropped a disorderly conduct charge Tuesday against prominent black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., who was arrested at his home near Harvard University after a report of a break-in.

The city of Cambridge issued a statement saying the arrest "was regrettable and unfortunate" and police and Gates agreed that dropping the charge was a just resolution.

"This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department," the statement said.

Supporters say Gates – the director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research – was the victim of racial profiling.

Officers responded to the home Gates rents from Harvard after a woman reported seeing two black men trying to force open the front door. Gates' lawyer, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree, said the professor had returned from a trip overseas, found his front-door jammed and had to force it open.

Police said the 58-year-old Gates was arrested after he yelled at an officer, accused him of racial bias and refused to calm down after the officer demanded Gates show him identification to prove he lived in the home.

Gates declined immediate comment Tuesday, and Ogletree did not immediately return a request to comment on the charge being dropped.

careful of all them ol' white ladies sitting by the window or near the phone

*Hauwa*:

careful of all them ol' white ladies sitting by the window or near the phone

hehe so so true

*Hauwa*:

careful of all them ol' white ladies sitting by the window or near the phone

black ones and naija ones too.

tpia.:

black ones and naija ones too.

why?

JeSoul:

  why?   

I mean its not just whites who are the "danger".

It could be anyone- skin color or shared nationality/tribe doesnt automatically make someone a brother.

Even people from the same family can do each other in, talkless outsiders.

tpia.:

I mean its not just whites who are the "danger".

It could be anyone- skin color or shared nationality/tribe doesnt automatically make someone a brother.

Even people from the same family can do each other in, talkless outsiders.

But its little ol' retired white ladies who are home all day that are notorious for calling the cops for every tiny thing that happens.

Na wa oo. . . I wanted to go to Harvard though, still do - racism or not. I'm racist too!   Guess I wasn't good enough.
But yeah the racial disparity was pretty glaring since I started being curious about the school. Their undergraduate is made up of 8% blacks.
And yes, JeSoul is right. . .Harvard is way overrated!!! High prestige works these days though in terms of employment after college.

That's a sad story for Mr. Gates. . .still disrespected after all he's achieved. sad sad.  

JeSoul:

 But its little ol' retired white ladies who are home all day that are notorious for calling the cops for every tiny thing that happens.

whites of any age can call cops.

Neither does it mean blacks or naijas cant do the same. Or have their own issues in some other area.

Not calling the cops doesnt mean others cant get someone in a different way.

tpia.:

whites of any age can call cops.

Neither does it mean blacks or naijas cant do the same. Or have their own issues in some other area.

Not calling the cops doesnt mean others cant get someone in a different way.

They can I don't disagree. But more likely 9 outta 10 times, the lil' ol white lady is the guilty party.

chiogo:

Na wa oo. . . I wanted to go to Harvard though, still do - racism or not. I'm racist too! Guess I wasn't good enough.

Wassup Chiogo!
and nah it means you weren't rich enough and your daddy doesn't work for the pin heads in Congress or Wallstreet and didn't pull some strings to manipulate your admission into the school.

JeSoul:

Wassup Chiogo! 
and nah it means you weren't rich enough and your daddy doesn't work for the pin heads in Congress or Wallstreet and didn't pull some strings to manipulate your admission into the school.

Hey, you're scarce on the NBA thread. Well, so am I. . .missed ya 

Yes, you're right. . .my calculus teacher in high school who's white told me they look for two categories of people: people from extremely poor background with low-income parents and people from a wealthy background whose parents can sponsor the school. You have to be really intelligent to be in the first category, not so much for the second. Unfortunately, I fall into neither categories. My parents are not wealthy but we're not poor either. Their wahala too much sef.

*Hauwa*:

careful of all them ol' white ladies sitting by the window or near the phone

Haha!!

JeSoul:

They can I don't disagree. But more likely 9 outta 10 times, the lil' ol white lady is the guilty party.
Wassup Chiogo!

Lil' ol white ladies indeed. A Nigerian told me a story of one Lil' ol white lady that constantly called the police because cars (by blacks I guess) were parked too close to her side of the street. It is one thing to be looking out for criminals and all but how don't you know the car and how your neighbour looks like. Then again, all black people look the same to some white people.

@topic,

Are you guys for real blaming either the Police officers or the woman who reported the incident?

I will appreciate if anyone calls the Police if they notice someone attempted a break-in into my house, irrespective whether the perpetrator was Black or White. This situation would have been resolved without any incident if the Professor just obeyed the Officers and showed them simple identification. I guess the Prof just wanted national attention and he got it. What a lousy example he is to the Black community!

I am blaming
1. the Professor who shoulda simply obeyed the police & identified himself & the situation
2. the police for overreacting, I am sure arresting him wasn't necessary
3. the usually bored & nosy lil' o ladies who report anything and everything

and as a side note, I find it hard to believe the neighbor who reported did not know what their professor neighbor looked like. The 911 call could have probably been avoided.

Sorry. But I blame the professor.

Race isn't the issue here. A couple of guys were seen forcing a door open and the cops were called to a suspected break-in. The guy then gives the police a load of shit and gets arrested for refusing to show ID. He could have been black or white, the result would probably have been exactly the same.

He obviously knows that he screwed up because if he had a genuine complaint, he would sue the ass off them.

By the way. The dude isn't black even though he claimed to be. In fact, he took part in a TV show tracing his anscestry back to a white Irish king in 300AD. He's mixed race. 50% African and 50% white European.

this is the guy






he looks black enough, imo. He resembles Igbo sef.

He found European in his DNA- it doesnt mean he's not black.

a good lawyer will resolve all the hassle.

"They" are probably just trying to get rid of him anyway.


maybe someone else has been primed for his job.