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August 19, 2009
E-mail a friendYOUNG VOICES
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Alleges Racial Profiling
Are Cambridge cops racist?
That would seem to be the allegation of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the prominent African American scholar and previous guest on the show, who was arrested last week after an altercation outside his home.
According to news reports, an onlooker called the police after seeing Gates attempting to force open the door to a house on a residential street of the quiet Massachusetts town. What the tipster didn't know, of course, is that the home belonged to Gates himself, and that he was apparently locked out.
The events that followed have since been reported by other media, but seem to have begun with the police demanding Gates identify himself, and culminated with Gates shouting, “This is what happens to black men in America,” at which point he was arrested.
Did Gates' neighbor assume he was a criminal just because he is black? Did the police act wrongly when they arrived on the scene? Did Gates overreact to what could have just boiled down to a simple misunderstanding? Little more is known at this point, but hopefully the coming days will shed some light on the subject.
Update: More here from NPR.
Update: According to The New York Times, charges have been dropped and Mr. Gates now seeks an apology.