It took less than a day for the arrest of Henry Louis Gates to become racial lore. When one of America's most prominent black intellectuals winds up in handcuffs, it's not just another episode of profiling — it's a signpost on the nation's bumpy road to equality.
The news was emailed, Myspaced and Tweeted,argued and debated. This was, after all Henry Goddamn Gates: Summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale. MacArthur "genius grant" recipient. Acclaimed historian, Harvard professor and PBS documentarian. One of Time magazine's "25 Most Influential Americans" in 1997. Holder of 50 honorary degrees.
If this man can be taken away by police officers from the porch of his own friggin home, what does it say about the treatment that average blacks can expect in 2009?
The CEO of the Company, Earl Graves Jr., CEO of the company that publishes Black Enterprise magazine, was once stopped by police during his train commute to work, dressed in a suit and tie of all things and had this to say on the matter:
"My case took place back in 1995, and here we are 14 years later dealing with the same madness!Barack Obama being the president has meant absolutely nothing to white law enforcement officers. Zero. So I have zero confidence that (Gates' case) will lead to any change whatsoever."
For those that don't know the story, here it goes:Gates Jr had returned from a trip to China and found the front door of his Cambridge, Mass., home stuck shut. Gates entered the back door, forced open the front door with help from a car service driver, and was on the phone with the Harvard leasing company when a white police sergeant arrived.
At this point, stories differ. But for many people, that doesn't matter.
They don't care that Gates was charged NOT with breaking and entering, but with disorderly conduct after repeatedly demanding the sergeant's name and badge number. It doesn't matter whether Gates was yelling, or accused Sgt. James Crowley of being racist, or that all charges were dropped Tuesday.
The police report said that Gates yelled at the officer, refused to calm down and behaved in a "tumultuous" manner. Gates said he simply asked for the officer's identification, followed him into his porch when the information was not forthcoming, and was arrested for no reason. But something about being asked to prove that you live in your own home clearly struck a nerve — both for Gates and his many defenders.
As a young black man, the thought of racial profiling is neither alarming nor suprising. Its always funny how Dwight Mann brings out statisticians and magicians to try and dispel the notion of Profiling as being pure "coincidental". I have to admit,sadly, I have had many a discussion with black friends and colleagues(especially the older ones who took this election as a "finally reached the mountain-top" approach) who seem to believe that since Bro Barack won office, not only will profiling end in this country, but most of our daily-suffered injustices would too( oh yeah, let us not forget our reparations check too we all know we have that relative who is holding out hope for :). This tragic situation,along with the summer camp kids from Philly, and MANY more less publicized stories of how bigoted this country still is proves one thing in my mind: THERE IS NOTHING POST-RACIAL about these United States of America....
Thoughts?
I've been blogging all week about this so I don't have much left in me to say except...that we are visitors in a land that we built that most people only know as home...and it doesn't matter what letters are behind your name if any (PH.D, J.D., MSW, ESQ, etc.) simply put Nigga in front of your name so that before they see that you are one...they can read it in all of your accomplishments.
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