B"H

Last night my good friend Charles mentioned the current case of Prof. Henry Louis Gates being arrested

Harvard Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.

In this photo taken by a neighbor Thursday July 16, 2009 Henry Louis Gates Jr. center, the director of Harvard University's W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Research, is arrested at his home in Cambridge, Mass. Police say they were called to the home of Gates after a woman reported seeing a man try to pry open the front door. (AP Photo/Demotix Images, B. Carter)

and the allegations that this was a case of racial profiling gone wrong. I hope that someone such as Brother Ed Gilbreath, hint hint, will take this up on their blog since very few readers happen by here these days.

Even though I don't agree with a lot that Prof. Gates represents, he is nonetheless one of the most prominent Afro-American scholars at present. When a man of his stature is brought into the news via a controversial arrest, it gives pause to a lot of other lesser concerns. The thought goes through my mind just as I imagine it must also be on the minds of many others, "If this could happen to someone like him (Prof. Gates), then what hope is there for other lesser citizens such as myself?" I don't fear being a victim of racial profiling on a ordinary day, but there most certainly have been several situations when I felt quite vulnerable.

Once, several years ago when our family was driving in a rental vehicle in New Jersey, I was questioned quite harshly by a State Trooper and forced to stand outside the car in the rain for several minutes. The fact that New Jersey had a bad reputation for racial profiling of black males was never far from my mind during that ordeal. On another occasion, as we were driving north from Jackson, Mississippi towards Tenn., I purposely chose not to go east through Birmingham, AL with my white wife and face who knows what, even in the year 2004.

The current case involving Prof. Gates is far from a simple case of racial profiling. It is entirely possible that some of his own actions contributed to the errors on the part of the police.

"Police said Gates was arrested after he yelled at an officer, accused him of racial bias and refused to calm down after the officer demanded that Gates show him identification to prove he lived in the home.

Gates' lawyer, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree, said his client showed his driver's license and Harvard ID — both with his photos — and repeatedly asked for the name and badge number of the officer, who refused. He followed the officer onto the front porch as he left his house and was arrested there."

I do feel that if he was a mere average citizen, his treatment might have been far worse than it was and may not have resulted in any charges against him being dropped quite so quickly. In my mind this case shows that fame and celebrity status won't necessarily protect Afro-Americans from police harassment, but that same status may well have assisted after the fact and that is not acceptable.

Peace,

Shlomo