Consider this before crying "racial profiling"
By Dr. Boyce Watkins
1:12 PM on 07/21/2009
I might be kicked out of "The Black scholars club" for saying this, but the truth is that I don't feel sorry for Henry Louis Gates. America is far more capitalist than it is racist, so a distinguished Harvard University Professor like Gates is likely to get more respect than the average White American. The idea that he is somehow the victim of the same racism that sends poor Black men to prison simply doesn't fly with me, and Gates should be careful about appearing to exploit the plight of Black men across America to win his battle of egos with the Cambridge Police Department. At worst, Gates has been a victim of racial profiling by the woman who called the police, as well as the officer who may have interpreted his protests as being more belligerent than they actually were. The same thing happens to Black boys in the school system, who are suspended at astronomical rates for bad behavior. The fact that the charges have now been dropped against Gates shows that a mistake has clearly been made....
Basically, this situation may have been a battle of two egos: One of them from a Harvard professor who seemed to feel that he should not be disrespected by a lowly police officer; the other from an officer who seemed to feel that a powerful Black professor could be treated differently from a powerful White professor. What is abundantly clear is that this is NOT the case of a poor Black male being exploited by the racist, classist power structure. Perhaps the next time there is another Jena Six incident, Dr. Gates will fight as diligently for poor Black men as he is fighting for himself, and his fight will go beyond writing papers for academic journals that hardly anyone ever reads. I also hope that Cambridge police officers will give the same credibility to wealthy African Americans as they do to their White counterparts. This situation should never have happened.
In addition, you can check out Bill Cosby's understanding of the situation. I'd embed the video, but since they didn't leave an explicit method of doing that it would be rude.
Scholar’s arrest is a signpost on road to equality
Case signals there’s ‘nothing post-racial’ about U.S., colleague of Gates says
Amid the indignation over Gates' case, a few people pointed out that he may have violated the cardinal rule of avoiding arrest: Do not antagonize the cops.
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 defenders.
"You feel violated, embarrassed, not sure what is taking place, especially when you haven't done anything," said Graves of his own experience, when police made him face the wall and frisked him in Grand Central Station in New York City. "You feel shocked, then you realize what's happening, and then you feel it's a violation of everything you stand for."
And that this should happen to "Skip" Gates — the unblemished embodiment of President Obama's recent admonition to black America not to search for handouts or favors, but to "seize our own future, each and every day" — shook many people to the core.
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You know, I tried to keep quiet about this
You know, I tried to keep quiet about this for the simple fact that I really don't care for Skip Gates (perhaps I should say his "work" rather than the person). However, Watkins pushed me to say something because I wholeheartedly agree with him. Skip Gates has spent close to twenty years now demonizing poor black people in his opinion pieces for Time, New York Times, Newsweek, etc., not to mention his documentaries and interviews with folks like Oprah. During the 90s he rode to the top of the pack as one of America's leading black intellectuals solely for speaking so-called "truths" about Black America's cultural foibles. Along with William Julius Wilson he legitimatized right wing theories and opinions about poor black people - e.g., that most problems that face poor blacks are self-inflicting, and many of them uses charges of "racism" too much as a crutch - and both were reward handsomely for such. They both were perfect, neoliberal foot soldiers in the Clinton era.
Now that the tables have turned and Skip Gates is a victim of racial-profiling, suddenly he's Mr. Enlightened/Downtrodden Negro who feels a common bond and shared experience with his poor brothers? Talk about poetic justice! Skip Gates spent close to twenty years reminding folks that he's a proud member of the Black Bourgeoisie, an intellectual who rub elbows with black celebrities, making sure that no one dare grouped him in with those rambunctious coloreds who brings those of his ilk shame in front of white folk. I remember when the whole Imus thing blew up, and Oprah had an episode to discuss Hip Hop's misogyny. One moment during the show, Oprah played a video clip of our "leading" black intellectual to discuss the problems that face our poor communities. Instead of getting down to the nitty-gritty of the whole thing, instead of living up to W.E.B. Dubois's legacy in attacking white supremacy and free-market capitalism, Skip Gates cited almost every single right-wing trope imaginable (e.g., high school dropout rates, teenage pregnancy, drive-bys, robbery, etc.) as if this behavior just came out of nowhere among black folks. It was almost like hearing the Cosby's infamous Pound Cake speech all over again.
So y'all have to excuse me for feeling a little bit jaded by this whole thing here. The cop was definitely wrong in this situation; Gates was innocent. However, I agree with Watkins that maybe this incident will push Gate to use his clout as a Harvard professor to focus on deep, systemic issues that many of our poor brothers and sisters have to endure, rather than writing fluff books that are no more useful than a coffee table item. Maybe this incident will slow his role in demonizing poor black folks just so he can keep his stature as a highly-paid black intellectual that's mainstream-proof for the public (i.e. white) to embrace.