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The 21st Century Color Line
Henry Louis Gates Jr., who directs Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, knows much about the color line-not only from his life's work, but from life experience, including last week, when he was arrested in his own home.
Gates' lawyer, Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree, said in a statement that the arrest occurred as Gates returned from the airport:
"Professor Gates attempted to enter his front door, but the door was damaged. Professor Gates then entered his rear door with his key, turned off his alarm, and again attempted to open the front door. With the help of his driver they were able to force the front door open, and then the driver carried Professor Gates' luggage into his home." Both Gates and his driver are African-American. According to the Cambridge [Mass.] Police report, a white woman saw the two black men attempting to enter the home and called police.
Ogletree continued: "The officer ... asked Professor Gates whether he could prove that he lived there and taught at Harvard. Professor Gates said that he could, and ... handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver's license to the officer. Both include Professor Gates' photograph, and the license includes his address." Police officer James Crowley reported that Gates responded to his request for identification: "Why? Because I'm a black man in America?" Despite his positive identification, Gates was then arrested for disorderly conduct.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, more than 60 mostly African-American and Latino children attending the Creative Steps camp were disinvited from a suburban Valley Swim Club, which their camp had paid for pool access.
Suspicions of racism were exacerbated when Valley Swim Club President John Duesler said, "There was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion ... and the atmosphere of the club." The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation.
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor were permeated by the race question, especially with white, male senators questioning her comments on how a "wise Latina" might rule in court. If confirmed, one of the first cases she will hear will be that of Georgia death-row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis, an African-American.
As it moves into its second century, the NAACP is, unfortunately, as relevant as ever. It is confronting the death penalty head-on, demanding Davis' claims of innocence be heard and asking Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the case of Pennsylvania death-row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. Another new NAACP initiative asks people to record instances of bias, discrimination and police brutality with their cell-phone cameras, and upload them to naacp.org.
At the group's centennial, longtime board Chair Julian Bond said, paraphrasing Jay Leno: "When I started, my hair was black and my president was white. Now my hair's white, and my president is black. I hold the NAACP responsible for both." Though the Cambridge Police Department has dropped the charges against Gates, his charges of racial discrimination remain. W.E.B. Du Bois' color line has shifted-but it hasn't been erased.
Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.
- Posted in
48 Comments so far
Show AllSue the police
For years I taught in a school district made up of: 50% African/American,30% Latino, and 20% White. The School District was controlled by a mostly Italian American School Board and some of them wound up in jail for corruption........They kept an all white school for friends and family and the other schools were left to the neighborhoods where poverty and crime interfered with the educational process....
Whites would always talk about the "Muscarats" and someone once told me that was the "N" word to them. If whites are still moving away from any signs of integration, then why would anyone think that racism has disappeared......If the United States is responsible for over 1.5 million deaths in Iraq and the common comment is: "Better to kill "Them" over there," then racism is still the excuse to "kill all those brown faces."
When Barack Obama abandoned his pastor because of his rhetoric, he abandoned a man who was telling the truth.
When Eric Holder called people, who hid behind their racism, cowards, he was riduled and marginalized.
When a document was written for Homeland Security claiming that "Right Wing Conservative Groups" had to be monitored for their extremism,the report had to be pulled.
For decades, whites have been saying, "Some of my best friends are black." For, maybe, 10% of the whites that may be true. For the other 90%, they keep their thoughts to themselves and share their hates and fears only with fellow whites.
thank you for your post.
Why does the racial make up of our Police and Firefighting force remain overwhelmingly white when the demographic of our cities looks so radically different?
Love
Zero
I believe the Ricci case answered that question for you didn't it?
As a retired high school educator, with former students in three Southern states, I have dealt with the backlash of racial divisiveness and have watched it stunt the lives of many.
As part of the human family, I truly believe that if we individually focus on creating positive, loving "personal" attitudes and intentions, the lives we desire and deserve will fall into place. There is too much blame, a symptom of that insidious pestilence of "giving our power away". Who benefits from that??
What a great world we'd create if all this nonsense just stopped!
Surely if Professor Gates had been white the lady invoved would not have called the police. We now have a President and an Attorney General who are colored. Time for erasing the remaiing racism.
I think you're right. Given the age of Professor Gates, the woman most likely would have offered her help to the "nice older gentleman" had he been white.
I realize I'm entering sacred cow country here but why are so many Progressives, so-called, obsessed with the melanin content of people's skin? It seems illogical and counter-productive to their cause. If America's civil rights are worth anything those rights must be for all citizens despite the melanin content of their skin. How can more color bias defeat the attitude of color bias?
Why are you so deep in denial about it?
Surely you're not suggesting that some "political correctness" is contrived.
On a national statistical level it's easy to see why people are "obsessed" with race. Non-white "races" are disproportionally oppressed. The problem is people carry this too far and begin generalizing about the attitudes of millions of people as if they were a cohesive group (i.e. "white people think that..." fill in blank) Or they automatically see every issue as one of race. For example, I have no trouble believing that this situation could have happened to someone of any race. Is it uncommon for old ladies to mistakenly report a break-in? Is it rare for a cop to arrest an innocent person (regardless of their race) for allegedly "mouthing off" to a cop?
Boy are you in trouble! If its a black involved its immediately a case of racism. Its not possible for those so quick to condemn to believe the possibility that a self important Harvard Professor did exactly what the police said he did? Raised hell....like "Don't you know who I am?!"
Nope, the first reaction is always it MUST be because he was black.
I have no idea what really happened, but I'm not believing a guy just because he is black or because he is a Harvard professor.
It's not possible for those so quick to defend to believe the possibility that a thuggish cop did exactly what the professor said what he did?
Nope, the first reaction is always to defend the cop, because well, cops don't lie. Cops don't abuse their power. Cops don't ever racially profile. Nope. Never. Ever.
I don't think anyone is attempting to justify the cop's behavior. Upon displaying his ID, the cop should have apologized and the whole thing should have been over. I just meant to point out that cops abuse their authority all the time, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they are racists, sometime not. From the information provided here, I can't tell if their abuse of power was racially motivated. Though if it was, I wouldn't be surprised.
You are right about cops in general, hopedup. i've been on the receiving end of abusive cop treatment. I'm white, but at the time, I had long hair. I've also been friends with a girl who married a cop and I know first hand their general attitude and what goes on at cop parties and social gatherings. A pig is a pig is a pig. But being black makes a huge difference in the way you are perceived and treated.
The professor had the right to resist in his own home and with identification. The same is true for the 'average' black man, or one in the ghetto. I doubt if the incident would have gone the same way if he had been white. If a cop ordered me out of my house it would have to be at gunpoint. Why can't it be the same for a black man? I will answer my own question. A black man is considered a criminal until proven otherwise.
If a person mouthed off to an abusive cop, what do you think happens 9 times out of ten? Anytime you criticize a cop's behavior (rightly or wrongly), they tend to go heavy-handed on you. It does happen more often to people of non-white heritage. But it is also just the standard abusive behavior of cops. Remember the cop who tazered the old white lady at the traffic stop? Cops are often just schoolyard bullies with tazers and guns and a penchant for ignoring the law.
Whites are fast becoming the minority. That eventuality doesn't sit well at all, especially with white males. Just one more thing on the list of future civil wars that'll be waged in this "great" nation. Oh, Joy!
What do you have against white males?
What do you have against white males no longer being a majority?
Depends which ones you are referring too. I've met white males that are wonderful human beings and I have also encountered white males who are needlessly taking up space on this planet.
I guess wilmoor has a problem with whites males, you know, like Dick Cheney... and Noam Chomsky.
White males (and some blacks) who own huge chunks of the wealth are definitely the minority. It doesn't matter how much of a minority you are if you have the power and wealth.
Thanks Amy, you always make sure to keep the real news at the top. It's a shame when we have to read about racism in a country where we know all the travesties that have occurred and still continue to occur in this country that used to be called the melting pot.
Apparently these power hungry white folks will never relinquish power and violence to keep it going.
Wait until Eric Cantor runs for the presidency. He'll find out mach schnell that a Jew doesn't stand a chance of becoming president, not even a crypto fascist Jew wrapped in the flag and playing to America's racism.
Professor Thomas Sowell describes at least one of the origins of the racial divisions among Black and White Americans that exist to this day. In his book "Black Rednecks and White Liberals" he briefly discusses how the plantation owners and their benefactors divided the Black and White plantation workers to prevent them from forming worker unions. They promised the White workers that they would be paid, if they agreed to not join the Black or Slave laborers. Enough White workers agreed and promoted hate propaganda against the Black laborers. The divisions based on minor differences of human physical characteristics still exist and are deeply ingrained into the American system, and the individual psyche.
Slavery was based on divide and conquer from the very beginning. There were a huge number of slaves who were used to their freedom, and a huge number of poor whites who were being victimized by the slave owning class just as much as the slaves were. The Faulkner story of the poor white being met at the plantation by a slave butler and told to go to the rear door sums up the whole situation. The poor white's entire relationship with his social "betters" was through black slave house servants. Also, blacks were the competition when it came to labor. The only thing the poor white had was his 'freedom'. The institution of slavery did a lot of damage to poor whites as well as blacks. We are still suffering from it, hundreds of years later. Racism is the largest problem in this country, and is well nigh impossible to get rid of. It is intimately connected to social injustice, it is used by the corporate powers, it is mixed with class distinction. It is why the United States is so far behind Europe when it comes to social equality. Scratch the average white American deep enough and you will find that he feels superior to black people. Scratch the average Afro-American and you will find resentment and hostility. I'd say that most of our 'progress' is cosmetic.
I would add that white indertured servamts were never called slaves although it's exactly what they were, many of them died or were sold along african or indian slaves.
Q: Who was the alleged WHITE woman that called the po...lice?
Doesn't she deserve her 15 minutes of fame????
It's always good to expose the idiots that caused the problem....or is this karmas way of playing with us.
Sorry, don't agree with you here. If a neighbor saw suspicious activity going on at my house (someone forcing a door open), I would be grateful to her/him afterwards. The fact that he/she pointed out the "intruder" was black was irrelevant and implies he/she may not have known Professor Gates very well. Her action was not racist in my opinion.
It is not idiocy to be concerned about possible crime in one's neighborhood. She did the right thing. After that, it was the police's problem, and this particular police officer blew it. What should have been a routine police house call turned into an 'incident' because of the officer's inherent racism, and because the professor was indignant over such racism. If the officer had been a little less racist and the professor a little less touchy, the whole thing might not have escalated. But of course the officer could not be less racist, because he doesn't think he is racist. And the professor was touchy because he's spent a lifetime having to put up with racism. He's touchy because he's only human.
Race makes idiots of us all. This country is so rife with race it cannot operate properly. It starts with the children. When will we concentrate on raising our children properly? The next step is to admit how racist we are. Nothing will change until these two things are done, not even into the 22nd century.
Racism as evidenced here has many other colors than White. Look inside before indicting others.
Point me to a 58 year old white professor being arrested in a similar situation. Point me to white children not being allowed to use the pool at a club because they would change the "complexion" of the club.
Can we please stop all this race baiting? Please tell me why Asian Americans aren't brought into this discussion instead. They're a different race, not getting any special treatments, and are yet doing fine. There should be no discrimination for or against any race !
Well said Jennifer. I'm of the pink variety (white being albino, and I'm not albino). Last year I stopped listening to black radio stations because on one (I think it was Tom Joyner's show - or Michael Baisden's) they were talking about how BAD white women smell. HUH? Laughing and going on and on. One black woman on the show was trying to stop it and said "maybe it's because they use different skin or hair products...."
I'm sorry for what happened to Professor Gates. Ignorance is costly. I've known of Dr. Gates for a long time. I'm a fan. If those police were smarter - maybe watched PBS now and then! - they would have recognized this man and not acted so stupid. I cannot believe Dr. Gates behaved "inappropriately" as is being said.
What the HECK do Asian Americans have to do with this specific situation?
Yes, Asian Americans are not getting the special treatment of Driving While Black.
"There should be no discrimination for or against any race !"
Indeed. Tell that to the people at the Philadelphia club who were concerned about black children changing the "complexion" of the club.
How is it "race baiting" to point out occurrences of racism?
Please Jennifer read H. Zinn's A people history of the US and you might understand why this story has nothing to do with race baiting...
I have a simple solution! Lets make love to each other until we all are the same color! peace in and out!
Indeed, the color line persists, scribbled weirdly across this diverse nation--the subjective reactions that people have to different colored members of the human race. Thank you. What a complete imbecile that officer must be! I wonder if the Harvard professor will get decent counsel? Hmm...
That's the most clear thing that has come out of all of this. The cop who handled the 'problem' is a total fool. He should pay dearly for it. First, he should have to apologies personally to his superior (the Harvard professor). Then he should have to apologize publicly on TV for his behavior. Then he should be fired, because he's going to cost the city some bucks when it gets sued.
"[President Nixon] emphasized that you have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to."
—H R Haldeman to his diary
Racism is the collective power to implement bias. Its powers are largely institutional and structural. I will take the KKK any day before I do a racist politian, judge, administator, editor etc. For example the crack/cocaine sentencing laws, law enforcement arrest patterns, prosecutor’s charges and judges sentences have long been known to follow rather strict racial patterns.
Even a black president harboring negative feelings about whites will have almost no effect on whites because his advisors and those upon whom he depends to govern are white’s or others with a serious stake in the status quo. Who will implement his racist policies for example, how will congress vote on it. The same black president on the other could do more damage if he harbored anti-black sentiments For example one could just imagine if Justice Clarence Thomas were president. On the other hand if the president were white and harbored such intention about black folks, one could easily see how such a president could devastate the little black have collectively somehow manage to achieve. Just recently this has happened under Nixon, Reagan, Carter, Clinton and Bush. The interesting thing is that the idiot Bush has arguably a better record than the so called cerebral “ First black president” Clinton regarding Black folks . By the way Obama was in Ghana a few weeks ago trying to sell Africom ( A proposed leviathan US army base devised to control African resources and influence regional politics, the army General in charge of that project it is also of course black) to Ghana , regardless of the fact that the AU is vehemently against it. What irony. How typical.
How often have you head of a white guys murdered by the police because they thought his cell phone was gun?, he was trying to reach for an officers gun, he was making threats, and other sundry permutations of reasons to kill/murder
Sooner or later one get tired of the drip drip ubiquitous effects of racism naturally gets to some. I guess even for the mild mannered uncle tom Gates, who is well known over the years to ingratiate himself to you know who even got tired of the whole thing. Booker T Washington could have told him a thing or two.
To expose the bs and pretense. The question to whites is this. If you were to be born again and had an option will you be neutral regarding being black or white. If not, why not. For most blacks, the constant overt and subliminal battle with racism does create concrete mental issue. For example why would Michael Jackson with all his wealth, fame etc find a need to carve his face into a white mask, what could lead one to such drastic measures, his kids are not his seed. Michael is just an extreme example of that demon that plaques a lot of so called minority groups. Stockholm Syndrome anyone? How does racism allow the victim to reward the victimizer. Abused wife syndrom anyone?
The Black-White experience is an approximate template that goes to illuminate white brown, white-yellow power relations
These incidents serve a very useful purpose on behalf of the elites: divide and conquer.
The elites want very much for whites to fear and resent blacks and for blacks to fear and resent whites and every other which combo you can think of.
They want all us to fight each other over colors.
For the love of God don't buy into it.
Don't let the corrupt cops and Klansmen make you think that all white men are monsters. Don't let the gangbangers and black supremacists make you think that all blacks are burning hot for your demise. Don't let the immigration issue make you think that Hispanics long to displace you and overrun the nation. When people are thinking in such a manner, it allows the powers-that-be to play on prejudices, emotion.
This wasn't the ugliest case of racism in the troubled history of our nation, but it certainly should act as a wake-up call as to where we are headed. Are we going to continue to allow this to occur? Are we going to let this keep us from seeing the big picture?
Who's to say that a corrupt cop isn't going to murder me, a white guy in cold blood? Or a gun-toting redneck who doesn't like my politics? Or someone else who just doesn't like MY skin color or manner of dress or my bald head or whatever. It's not as if I have never had people threaten to kill me. When you stand for correct things, the lowlifes tend to target you, and my enemies have come in all shades.
They've got us all where they want us, in one big bowl. And they want to sit back and enjoy the show.
"Then he should be fired, because he's going to cost the city some bucks when it gets sued."
Take racism to court. Make 'em pay through the nose.
I respect Amy Goodman, but her version of the story is a somewhat sugarcoated version of the police officer's version. According to other versions, Professor Gates became hostile and used the "race card" BEFORE consenting to give identification. I believe that Mr. Gates had full intention, upon seeing the police arrive, of making a scene and racial statement.
I also believe that the police officer was wrong, once learning that Professer Gates resided at the address of insisting that the professor step outside. ANY person has the right to raise his voice within the confines of his own residence. The police have only one reason of 'requesting' that a person step outside, and that is to put the person in public, thus allowing for the charges of disorderly conduct in public.
As the song goes... "nobody's right if everybody's wrong." Just my opinion.
Regarding "Sugar Coating" -- regardless of what the police say... or what Prof. Gates says... the fact is that the police SHOULD be used to these situations (since mistaken calls like this are not unheard of). If the arresting police officer is as great as the police force/union indicate that he is, then he should be aware enough to deescalate a situation like this. What's more, he should be able to deescalate the situation easily and quickly -- without threats or arrests or Tasers. If Gates was rude, that is understandable considering the situation. The police should have apologized then and there and tried to calm him down. Then the police should have gone over to the neighbor's house who made the initial call and informed that neighbor that Prof. Gates lived there and there was no problem.
The police are the ones in control of the situation. (After all, they are the ones with the power to arrest and enforce their idea of justice on the street.) It is the police officer's responsibility to not allow situations like this to happen.
"Scratch the average white American deep enough and you will find that he feels superior to black people. Scratch the average Afro-American and you will find resentment and hostility."
Eh, I think that's a very negative view you have of average people. Sorry.
I guess I should stay away from black people then, since according to you, they all deep down wanna kick my ass real bad.
I'm just wondering why most of the people who have wanted to kick my ass real bad were other white guys.