Obama, Cooper: Racism Still Permeates Society

Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. is also an author, documentary producer, and the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. (photo: Justin Ide, news.harvard.edu)

UPDATED FRIDAY, 24 JULY 2009:  President Obama held a nationally-broadcast press event at about 3 p.m. today, announcing he had called Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley.  Obama said he told Crowley he is "an outstanding police officer and a good man."

“The incident just goes to show how deeply racism permeates our society, even in a liberal bastion like Cambridge,” said Kenneth J. Cooper, editor of the Trotter Review at the University of Massachusetts Boston, a journal that addreses black studies.

Gates was unable to open the house’s front door after returning home from China, according to the Boston Globe and other media.  He then enlisted the help of his driver, an African American, who forced the door open.  A passerby, suspecting a burglary, called 911.

But Gates was not arrested and detained for breaking and entering, as many now know from national media that picked up the story.  He proved his residency satisfactorily after showing his Harvard ID and driver’s license to the Cambridge police. 

Gates, who is also director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, was arrested for the criminal charge of disorderly conduct, for his "tumultous" behavior, according to the police report. 

Prior to the arrest, the professor angrily asked the Cambridge police officer, a number of times, for his name and badge number. 

Since the arrest on July 16, the Cambridge Police Department (CPD) has dropped the criminal charge against Gates, after a Boston Globe article about his arrest, published this week, led to a public outcry.

Asked if the CPD believes the arresting officer acted professionally during the entire incident with Gates, CPD spokesperson Sgt. James DeFrancesco, who was not present at the scene of the arrest, told EthnicNEWz.org today, “Yes, we do.”

“The Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were already in their own home,” he said tonight on national TV and radio.  The press conference  addressed his national healthcare proposals, which all but a couple of the reporters' questions focused on.

He acknowledged a possible bias in his response since Gates is a friend of his, and he didn't know all the facts about the incident. 

Still, the president implied Gates' anger did not justify the arrest.  "I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry."

“I also object to the notion that someone can be arrested for saying something in his own home, in whatever tone.  [Gates] did not threaten to assault the officer, according to various accounts,“ responded Cooper in an e-mail to EthnicNEWz.org.

Gates, who is demanding an apology from the arresting police officer, told CNN tonight, “This man clearly was a rogue policeman.”

“'Would this [incident] have happened to a white professor?” asked Cooper rhetorically.   Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick called Gates’ arrest “deeply troubling” in remarks to NECN TV tonight.  “It’s upsetting…regardless of race.”

“There’s a long history of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately,” said President Obama.

Sgt. James Crowley, the arresting officer, said the incident was not racially motivated, and he will not apologize to Gates, according to an interview late today with the Boston Globe.

See “Skip Gates Speaks,” an interview with Henry Louis Gates Jr. in African-American online magazine The Root, of which he is the editor-in-chief.

Source:  EthnicNEWz.org

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