Professor Henry Gates Arrested For Breaking into His Own Home

This story sickens me. This story also reassures me that even though it’s 2009 and we have an African American president, racism is still alive and well.

Harvard Professor  Henry Louis Gates, Jr *Pictured above* , known to many as an author, educator and  the host of the PBS series African American Lives, was arrested on the 16th of July 2009 on what seems to be a burglary or breaking and entering charge. Get this though, he was ‘breaking into’ his own house! Seems Prof Gates was arriving home from an overseas trip to China and found that his front door was stuck so he entered the home through a different door with a key, cut off the alarm system and with the help of the driver, who brought him from the airport, forced his door open. While on the phone with Harvard Real Estate to report what happened with the door, he notices a police officer on his porch.  When he asked the officer what’s going on the officer asks him to step out of the home and explains that he received a call of a burglary in progress at this residence. After refusing to step out of his home and explaining that he works for Harvard University and that he lives there, he then has the officer follow him into the kitchen where he shows him his Harvard ID as well as his drivers license that shows the actual address for further proof that he indeed lives there. The officer verifies the info and begins to leave. This is where things get hairy. Mr. Gates asks the officer for his name and badge number several times to no avail. He follows the officer to the front door and sees more police on his porch. He asks them for the first officer and their info, but as soon as he steps out of his house he gets arrested! click here to read his lawyer’s statement.

Now of course, the police won’t have a statement available until after his arraignment. they have to get their lies accounts on the situation together. Once they realized who he is they can’t afford to take a big “L” on this one. I see this brewing into a big blow up. It’s already a known thing that the Cambridge Massachusetts area around Harvard is racist so this is just some more wood on the fire.

More  to come as the story develops.

Source:

Picture: http://www.handsonatlanta.org/AboutUs/index.php/MLK_08/literary_series.html

Biography (click on picture): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Louis_Gates,_Jr.

Story: http://www.theroot.com/views/lawyers-statement-arrest-henry-louis-gates-jr

PBS Series: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/profiles/index.html