Friday, July 31, 2009

Officer Uncle Tom


Truth said, when I saw the photo of Prof. Henry Louis Gates arrest and Sergeant Leon Lashley in it with his back turned, I thought he was going to claim that he saw nothing. Yes, he did stand up for his colleague and friend, Sgt. James Crowley. That's what friends are for....right? But why is it that there is a rumor that Officer Lashley was told to say what he did or else lose his job and pension? There's also that now questionable police report on the arrest. The questions being about the quoted witness, Lucia Whalen, denying that she told Sgt. Crowley about seeing black men with backpacks.
Having seen some racist incidents in Cambridge, MA in which black city employees were forced to say things they really did not want to in order to keep their jobs I can believe it. I just hope it's not true and that's not the case in this instance.

'Uncle Tom' is a term used to characterize a black person who will do anything to stay in favor with a white person. The female equivalen is , 'Aunt Jemima'. It's based on the story, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' by Harriett Beecher Stowe. Unfortunately, as soon as that photo of the esteemed Professor's arrest surfaced Sgt. Lashley was labelled, 'Uncle Tom.'

An while I am sorry for having called Ms. Whalen a bigot based on the police report...this is just another notch for the July 16th, 9-11 call made by Lucia Whalen:

1. Esteemed scholar of African American history, Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. gets an arrest record.
2. Officer with stellar record now called 'Sgt. Jim Crow'.
3. Black officer with stellar record now called 'Uncle Tom'.
4. Black President of the United States reminded that even though he is President he is still an n-word.
5. Boston Police officer, Justin Barrett about to lose job because of racism comments on the incident
6. Incident becomes major setback to race relations in the USA.
7. World shakes head at USA and it's continues race problems.

Saw this at the bottom of the BEER SUMMIT Article on CNN.com:

Meanwhile, a black Cambridge police sergeant on the scene the day of Gates' arrest wrote a letter to Crowley, asking him to mention to Gates and Obama that he is now known as the "black sergeant" and to some others as an "uncle Tom."

"I'm forced to ponder the notion that as a result of speaking the truth and coming to the defense of a friend and colleague, who just happens to be white, that I have somehow betrayed my heritage," Sgt. Leon Lashley wrote. "Please convey my concerns to the president that Mr. Gates' actions may have caused grave and potentially irreparable harm to the struggle for racial harmony in this country and perhaps throughout the world."

Lashley wrote in the letter he would like Gates to reflect on the incident and ask himself what responsibility he bears, what he can do to heal the rift and what he can do to mitigate the damage done to the officers' reputations.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Statement by Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis Re: Officer Justin Barrett

July 30, 2009

Statement given by Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis at today's (9/30/09) news conference.

Thank you all for being here today. We are also joined by several guests and I would like to thank them for their continued support and participation. Joining us here is Minister Don Muhammad, Karen Payne from the NAACP, Michael Kozu from Project Right, and Detective Larry Ellison from MAMLEO.

On Tuesday July 28th the Boston Police Department placed Officer Justin Barrett on administrative leave pending the outcome of a termination hearing. On that day I was made aware that this officer admitted to being the author of correspondence which included repulsive racial slurs.

At that time and after a meeting with command staff, I moved immediately to take action and the officer was stripped of his gun and badge.

I was presented with a set of facts and believed that the appropriate and only response was to place the officer on administrative leave and set the wheels in motion for a full investigation. The officer is entitled to his due process and we will see that process through. There will be a thorough internal affairs investigation and hearing process which will lead to a termination hearing scheduled in the next week to ten days.

The Boston Police Department has a top to bottom commitment to community policing. Community Policing is based on trust. This type of venomous rhetoric is severely damaging. Maintaining our community relationships is paramount to our mission to serve the citizens of Boston.

We all work with the community and have made great strides to earn their trust. We must not allow this action to affect those relationships that have been forged and the progress we have made over the years.

The Boston Police Department is committed to a standard of excellence. Our community rightly has high expectations for us. It is a standard that the community deserves and we are required to meet. Officer Barrett’s actions do not comply with those expectations.

Barrett’s e-mail was racist and inflammatory. These racist opinions and feelings have no place in this department or in our society and will not be tolerated.

Barrett’s comments were directed at Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates. I regret the direct insult toward professor Gates and have personally reached out to him to apologize for this offense and inform him of the department’s immediate efforts to make this officer accountable.

I have also asked that in the coming days, members of the department reach out to those in the community that we serve, and extend ourselves to others, to reiterate our commitment to them, our citizens, and to improving relations at all levels.

As I have stated in the past, I am very proud of the officers and civilians of this department who carry out their duties in the finest traditions of the BPD. We will not allow the unacceptable actions of one member to define who we are as a police organization. This department has over 2,000 uniformed officers and 700 civilians who conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism. I applaud your integrity and continued hard work.

As a department, we must learn from this most unfortunate incident and move forward.

Officer Justin Barrett's Racist E-mail

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

I note that Officer Barrett has apologized for the e-mail. You can see his apology here. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=justin+barrett+apology&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

However, it's scary to think that someone who wrote such a thing is a policeman who is supposed to protect everyone regardless of color, race or creed.

Another Racist Cop in Boston

Officer Justin Barrett (Photo from Boston.com)

Racism in Boston, what’s new? Today we are hearing that a Boston police officer Justin Barrett (36) is about to be fired for writing and sending a mass e-mail which had racially charged language. In the e-mail Barrett is alleged to have called Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. a “banana eating jungle monkey”! On top of that Barrett says that he would not have tolerated Prof. Gates behavior and would have sprayed him in the face with pepper spray! Barrett has been suspended by the Boston police and will probably be fired. He's also been suspended by the National Guard.

Lord help us black folks! A black person dare not speak back to a white cop for fear of getting beat up, pepper sprayed, shot, even shot in the back! When I say that racism is alive and well, a lot of white folks laugh, shrug it off. The truth of the matter is, they really don’t want to admit that the racism still exists in America today.

Wake up! The sooner we all admit and agree that there is still a racial problem in America, the sooner we can resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, attention all black folks…continue to remember the lessons your Momma taught you. Never talk back to a white cop if you want to live!

You can read more about the Justin Barrett issue at the following links:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/30/boston_police_officer_suspended_after_racially_charged_e_mail/
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/07/gatesgate-stretches-from-cambridge-mass-to-boston.html

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Cambridge Police Need to Apologize to Lucia Whalen

(Lucia Whalen at Press Conference Today)


Well, it's evident that Sgt. James Crowley added salt to his police report and tried to throw the blame on Lucia Whalen who made the initial 911 that started Gatesgate.

Cambridge police need to apologize to Ms. Whalen, she has been defamed. It's that police report that caused her to be villified. I wish she had spoken up sooner, then again we really don't know what kind of intimidation she was facing.

I live in Cambridge, MA. I know a lot of Cambridge cops and most are stellar, polite and caring. I have also made a 911 call regarding a B & E. In that case I was asked to describe the culprit and yes, it was a black man with a crowbar who was nabbed redhanded. I like Cambridge police because in most cases they respond promptly. But, I'm disappointed at the handling of this issue and especially now, that police Gatesgate report. I guess we now will haveto wonder about the accuracy of future reports written by the said officer.

Meanwhile, I think the FBI needs to get to the bottom of this. A race riot almost started because of this incident. I'm wondering if tomorrow's Beerplomacy at the White House should even go on now that we know the report is innacurate.

Watch the whole Press Conference here:

http://www.necn.com/Boston/NECN-Extra/2009/07/29/911-caller-in-Henry-Gates-case/1248885044.html

Question - Who is the mystery elderly woman who stopped Ms. Whalen?

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Sgt. Crowley Has Some Explaining To Do!

Hmmm! Now we have heard the controversial 911 tapes in the arrest of esteemed Harvard scholar and world renowned expert of African American studies, Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

The arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley police report now seems to have some inconsistencies. More like he wrote some stuff in there to cover his tracks. The 911 caller, Lucia Whalen, clearly does not say anything about two black men with backpacks. Through her attorney, she also denies ever speaking with Sgt. Crowley.

From Sgt Crowley's police report regarding a conversation with Ms Whaley:

She went on to tell me that she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch of Ware Street," the report says. "She told me that her suspicions were aroused when she observed one of the men wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/27/gates.arrest/index.html

Sadly, Sgt. Crowley's police report which is innacurate was taken as Bible. The racists who think they are God commentators like O'Reilly, Hannity and Rush Limbaugh ran with the report to paint Prof. Gates as a black man who got out of line. In fact, the truth is looking more like Prof. Gates was arrested for being 'uppity' to a white man. Listen to the tapes, Sgt. Crowley clearly says that he has ID that the man in the house if Henry Louis Gates, and he is told over the radio that the house belongs to the Prof. Yet, he is not satisfied and calls for Harvard police and more cars. Clearly Sgt. Crowley did not expect a black man to live in that house on Ware St. We also don't hear Prof. Gates screaming at the officer.

And like I said in a previous blog, because of this incident even our President, was reminded that even though he is the President he is still an n-word! Oh yeah, white America was mad at our black President for speaking out against racial profiling. It would be easy to sweep racism under the carpet expect white folks constantly remind black folks of their place in society...the bottom. The legacy of slavery lingers.

I am also disgusted when I read that Prof. Gates 'behaved badly' , should have been more civil, and subservient and docile. In other words, Black folks aren't supposed to act like they have brains in front of white people. How dare you a black man, speak up to a white man, in your own home!

As to Lucia Whalen, her name goes down in history even though she was well intentioned. Too bad she did not come forward sooner so that everyone could see the truth about Sgt. Crowley's police report.

Cambridge has established a panel to investigate the incident. Cambridge police internal affairs also needs to investigate. There is a lot of subtle racism in Cambridge, this issue has exposed the city to the world for what it really is.

Meanwhile, President Obama is expected to host Sgt. Crowley and Prof. Gates at the White for beers on Thursday, July 30, 2009. That will be an interesting event indeed.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Gatesgate 911 Tapes

Well, finally Cambridge officials have released the 911 tapes that Lucia Whalen made to Cambridge police on July 16, 2009. That's the call which started a racial tsunami of emotions in the US and around the world as world reknowned scholar Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested in his own home for disorderly conduct.

Turns out, Ms. Whalen never said that she saw two black men with backpacks. She saw two men with suitcases and she wasn;t sure if they lived in the house or not. After being questioned by the dispatcher, she says that they were bother 'larger' and one looked 'hispanic'.

But, Sgt. Crowley says in his report clearly, 'two black men with backpacks'. So where did he get that from or was it just his assumption that all people breaking into houses are black?

I am seriously laughing at Ms. Whalen's claim through her attorney that she is olive skinned and of Portuguese decent. Portugal is in Europe and its people are classified as 'caucausian'.

Am waiting to hear the ones with Sgt. Crowley and Prof. Gates.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Lucia Whalen Where Are You?

Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. mugshot (Cambridge, MA police)

“There are 1 million black men in the prison system, and on Thursday I became one of them.” ....Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Where is Lucia Whalen hiding? She's the woman who on Thursday, July 16, 2009 around 12:30pm called Cambridge, Massachusetts police to say that, "two large black men with backpacks" were breaking into a house on Ware St. Ware St. is not far from Harvard Square, and anyone living in that vicinity is usually affiliated with Harvard University or very wealthy.

Turns out the person she saw breaking in was esteemed scholar of African American history, Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. trying to get into his own home! Turns out he and his chaffeuer were wearing suits, there were three pieces of luggage on the porch and a Town Car parked outside. Prof. Gates had just returned from a trip to China. Prof. Gates is an older gentleman, small and walks with a cane. As you've heard in the news, Prof. Gates was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after asking Sgt. Jim Crowley to produce ID. The charges were later dropped.

At first I thought the incident happened at night. Turns out it happened in broad daylight. So, from what I can conclude about Ms. Whalen is that she is a BIGOT! Yes, she may have been well intentioned calling in a potential B&E (Breaking & Entering), but her description of the two men was way off. What did she want...the police to shoot the two black men with backpacks? If Prof. Gates was a younger, stronger looking black man he probably would have been shot in his own home! Did she want to be declared a hero for nabbing two black men. Obviously she didn't expect to see black people living in a nice house on Ware St.

Lucia Whalen goes down in history as the woman who showed the world that racism is alive in America today. Lucia Whalen goes down in history as the woman who almost started a race riot, and international incident. She goes down as the woman who led President Obama to be reminded by bigoted white folks that even though he is President he is still an n-word! Thanks to Lucia Whalen, a stellar police sergeant is now labelled, Sgt. Jim Crow, while Prof. gates is labelled Prof. Uppity! Now there's a new saying, "Being home while black!" Yes, it was her actions that started the tsunami of emotion and polarization.

What was Lucia Whalen doing on Ware St. in Cambridge and she lives in Malden, MA? Well, she is the Fundraising and Circulation manager for Harvard magazine which has its offices on the same Ware St....just a few doors down from Prof. Gates home.

Why is she hiding? And what does Harvard magazine have to say about this? They should be ashamed to have someone who does not know Prof. Gates on their staff. The magazine has done many articles on him and his work. He is one of the prides of Harvard University.
I would ask Harvard magazine to make Lucia Whalen watch films like ROOTS, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, & Prof. Gates PBS series on African American history. She needs to be sensitized that black people are human beings too!

Come out from hiding Lucia Whalen and explain your side!

What Prof. Gates was Charged With

Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. was charged on July 16th 2009, with violating Chapter 272, Section 53 of Massachusetts’ state code, which reads in full:

"Common night walkers, common street walkers, both male and female, common railers and brawlers, persons who with offensive and disorderly acts or language accost or annoy persons of the opposite sex, lewd, wanton and lascivious persons in speech or behavior, idle and disorderly persons, disturbers of the peace, keepers of noisy and disorderly houses, and persons guilty of indecent exposure may be punished by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than six months, or by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment."

What a joke! Did Prof. Gates do any of this? No wonder the charges were dropped! But seriously if you or I had been arrested that day, we'd probably still be languishing in the Cambridge jail!

Friday, July 24, 2009

The Curious Case of Prof. Gates


ON THE LEFT: Cambridge Police Sergeant and racial profiling instructor, Jim Crowley. On the right, Esteemed scholar of African American History, Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr.
*****************
By Chemi Che-Mponda


By now many people throughout the world have heard of the case of renowned Harvard University Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr., getting arrested in his own home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prof. Gates had just returned home from a trip to China.
The whole thing started on Thursday, July 16, 2009 when one Lucia Whalen, who works down the block on Ware St. where Prof. Gates lives made a 911 call to police. Whalen said that two large black men with backpacks were breaking into the posh Ware St. home. Turns out both were wearing suits and there were three pieces of luggage on the porch. Prof. Gates is small and walks with a cane. Turns out Prof. Gates was the homeowner trying to get into his own home, but had problems because the door was damaged due to a break-in attempt while he was away. Where’ve you been hiding Lucia? Can’t wait to hear the 911 tape of your call! Oh, she's probably away on one of those 'Need to Getaway' Southwest Airlines flights.
So, Sergeant James Crowley of Cambridge police shows up to investigate the break-in at 12:30pm. He sees Prof. Gates and is not satisfied that the older black gentleman is the homeowner. He calls Harvard University police even after Prof. Gates has presented him with an ID with his address on it. Sgt. Crowley didn’t believe that a black man lived in a nice home on ware St.? By now, anyone would be mad too about being disrespected in my own home. According to the officer, Professor Gates started yelling at him that he was a racist ands that’s why he arrested him. Why didn’t Sergeant Crowley just say there had been a misunderstanding and leave? Was he really looking for a confrontation with the Prof.?

Could it really be, that Sergeant Crowley being a Sergeant arrested Prof. Gates, so as not to look bad in the eyes of his junior officers. They say there were ten other officers there.I say this, when I was a kid I was taught, “Sticks and Stones may Break my bones, but words may never harm me!” In this case words obviously harmed the officer’s pride and he decided to show a force of power.While Sergeant Crowley may be a teacher of racial profiling, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t practice what he teaches. I have seen white people who have had children with black people, being more negative towards blacks than other racist whites. Sergeant Crowley, has now been nicknamed, ‘Sergeant Jim Crow’ for his actions towards Prof. Gates.
During his arrest, Prof. Gates allegedly told Sergeant Crowley, that “He didn’t know who he was messing with!” Prof. Gates was right indeed, the Sergeant didn’t know. I also find it hard to believe that after 11 years of working Cambridge, Sgt. Crowley didn’t know Prof. Gates by sight. Cambridge isn’t that big and it’s a common sight to see Prof. Gates, walking or driving.

Prof. Gates is a world renowned scholar. He's the preeminent scholar of African American history in the USA and the world. He is highly esteemed and respected. He has done a lot of research on African American history. He has also done a lot to bridge the divide between Africans and Africans in the diaspora. A lot of white people won’t appreciate the magnitude of Prof. Gates works because it was their white ancestors who did their best to erase the African heritage of African Americans. He has uncovered a lot of lost African American history. I bow down in thanks to Prof. Gates for his research. So someone like the bigot Lucia Whalen wouldn’t care to know who her neighbor was, even though I’m sure Harvard magazine has run a lot of articles about him.
The legacy of slavery still haunts America even though we now have the country has it’s first African American President. I have to agree that police acted ‘stupidly’ for arresting a mad inside his own home, even after he had proved that he lived there. And yes, I do think that if Prof. Gates had been Prof. O’Gates/Gatesky (a white man) he would have been treated differently. And I can’t help but ask that if Prof. Gates was really a criminal, wouldn’t he have tried to flee when he saw the police?And to those taking the police report as bible, what did we expect the guy to write,“Suspect (Prof. Gates) was polite and cooperative. He showed us valid ID proving that he was in his own home but we arrested him anyway.”? How many times have we heard of falsified police reports so that officers can cover up their blunders. And since when is shouting at anyone in your own home a crime or does it become a crime when an ‘uppity’ black is shouting at a white person? Sorry, but in reality this looks more and more like some kind of power play. “I’m white and you’re black, you better know your place!”
Lastly, let me say that the disrespect shown to President Obama over his comments about the Prof. Gates issue at the press conference last Tuesday are appalling. The comments that some whites have been uttering have been sheer racist. President Obama is the President, yet some white folks have been speaking against him as if he is beneath them. In other words, they are saying in code, “You may be President, but you are still an N-word! How dare you, an N-word, speak against a good old All American White boy! ”.
Remember President Obama is a black man and knows first hand the racism that black men have to endure. He has also lived in Cambridge, MA and has probably dealt with some nasty white cops.I live in Cambridge, MA. I don’t dare leave my house to go to the corner store without my ID. God forbid, something should happen to white person in the vicinity, you will be rounded up. And if you don’t have your ID on you, you get bundled into the paddy wagon, booked, and end up calling someone to please go get your purse with ID in it.
Cambridge has this ‘Liberal’ label, yes. At the same time it is a very racist city, the racism exists subtly. The Klan is here but they don’t wear sheets and pointy hats.To all the angry white folks out there, I say this, paint yourself black for a week and follow your same routine. Then see if you feel the same about this incident. And to those who say black folks need to ‘get over it’, we’ll get over it when racism ceases to exist and we are treated as equals.

You can contact me at chemiche2@yahoo.com

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Thank You President Obama for Speaking Out on Racial Profiling!


I was really thrilled to hear President Barack Obama speak out on the arrest of Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr., which happened here in Cambridge, MA recently. The President made his comments during a nationally televised press conference.

“There’s a long history in this country of African-Americans being stopped disproportionately by the police,” President Obama said. “It’s a sign of how race remains a factor in this society.”


I want to thank Pres. Obama, for speaking out against racial profiling in the USA. It does exist, even though many white people want to pretend it doesn't exist. They say, Get Over It! We'll "Get Over It" when whites start treating us as equal human beings! Maybe I shouldn't be so harsh. It's difficult for someone who has not experienced racism to know how a victimized person feels. Even President Obama has said that he had trouble hailing a cab in some cities, this when he was a Senator! He knows what racism is.

I have seen incidents racism here in Cambridge, the home of MIT & Harvard. It's disgusting and this city is supposed to be so liberal. If you are black do not walk around without your ID! Be warned! Can't even go to the corner store without it! The Klan exists in Cambridge as well, they just don't wear sheets!

Prof. Gates was lured out of his house and arrested after proving that he was the home owner of the residence where someone had called in a B & E. (Breaking and Entering). But wait, it get's even more interesting, a white woman, Lucia Whalen (40) called police saying that two black men with backpacks were breaking into the house on posh Ware St. Turns out they had suits, luggage, and a Town Car was parked out front. But hey, in a bigot's eyes any black person must be up to no good.

Read my other blogs on the Prof. Gates issue.

Meanwhile, once again I want to thank our President for admitting that racial profiling is still an issue in our nation, even though we have a black president. And yes, racism is alive and well in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Lucia Whalen Should Apologize Too!

The story about Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. being arrested at his home in Cambridge, MA is complicated. Liberal Cambridge is racist and black folks who live there know it well. I am one of them.

Well, one Lucia Whalen (40) said that she saw two black males with backpacks attempting to break into the house. And supposedly she also said that as far as she knew no black people lived in that house. She even waited for the police to show up, I guess expecting to be labelled some kind of hero. Ware St. is posh and expensive indeed, as well as most of Cambridge.

Well, let me just say this, I appreciate people looking out for their neighbor's houses, but her description of the two black males is just so so bigoted. Not only, that it could have led to people getting shot unnecessarily.

Turns out, Prof. Gates, had just returned from a trip to China. It was 12:30pm. He was wearing a blue blazer, his chaffeur was wearing a black suit. Neither had a back pack. There was a Lincoln Town car parked out front and three pieces of luggage on the porch. HELLO Lucia!

This reminds me of the image they show people for two seconds. Someone stabbing someone else. The bulk of the time, white folks will say that it was a black man stabbing a white man. In reality it is a black man getting stabbed by the white man. Whites like Lucia have bigotry programmed into them.

Let's see what that Harvard alumni magazine that Lucia works for needs says about this incident. People offended should not send in any donations as protest.

And to the white folks who keep telling us black folks to 'get over it', I say, try living as a black person for a week. Then see if you feel the same. We'll get over it, when white folks see us a ordinary human beings!

***************************************************

Read an interview with Prof. Gates HERE:

Excerpt from THE ROOT:

My driver is a large black man. But from afar you and I would not have seen he was black. He has black hair and was dressed in a two-piece black suit, and I was dressed in a navy blue blazer with gray trousers and, you know, my shoes. And I love that the 911 report said that two big black men were trying to break in with backpacks on. Now that is the worst racial profiling I’ve ever heard of in my life. (Laughs.) I’m not exactly a big black man. I thought that was hilarious when I found that out, which was yesterday.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Charges Dropped Against Prof. Gates

Prof. Gates Being Arrested at his house last Thurday

YEAH THEY DROPPED THE CHARGE, BUT CAMBRIDGE HAS BEEN EXPOSED FOR IT'S RACIST SELF!

***********************************************************

Harvard’s Gates Disorderly Charge to be Dropped by Police

By Kurt Heine

July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Henry Louis Gates Jr., Harvard University’s top expert on black history annd culture, won’t be prosecuted on a disorderly conduct charge that resulted from a confrontation with police on his front porch.

Gates’s lawyer, police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Middlesex County district attorney agreed the July 16 arrest was “regrettable and unfortunate,” according to a joint statement sent today in an e-mail.

Prof. Gates Arrest is Racist!


As a long time Cambridge resident, I can vouch for Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (pictured) that racism is alive and well in the city of Cambridge! I know white people hate it when a black person speaks the truth, but yes racism exists in Cambridge. I've seen many incidents over the years in the home of the city that houses the prestigious schools of Harvard and MIT. Cambridge is not the liberal city it claims to be. May the world see!

What's worse, is the campaign to eradicate the city of its black population. The blacks that remain in Cambridge are either wealthy or living in the projects. The few remaining black homeowners are being enticed to sell off their properties in order to make the neighorhoods white. If you don't agree to sell, ugly things start happening.

If you are black in Cambridge always walk with ID and be careful walking down some of those streets. You might get stopped. Walking while black is the term we use! Worse if a crime happens the first suspects to round up are the first black folks they see! Black folks come in all shapes sizes and colors, so its funny to see who gets rounded up and who actually committed the crime. A dark skinned black man gets picked up, when the crime was committed by a light skinned male etc.

And does anyone remember the case of the black principal, at the Agassiz (now Baldwin) school? Peggy Avarette was run out of town by Klan members who didn't wear sheets in 1998. The final straw was when they tried to set fire to her car right outside her home near Harvard Square! Yes, I say those white folks who perpetrated such hate were Klan members who did not wear sheets. They know who they are. The sad thing was the kids kept asking, WHY? Why were people being racist? The kids got along fine, it was the grown-ups acting and teaching their kids to be racist! The issue the white parents didn't want a black principal. They harassed Peggy Avarette constantly, standing outside her office window, making threatening calls to her home etc. After Ms. Avarette left another black principal was hired, then I remember hearing some of those racists saying "Be careful what you wish for".
I can recall so many incidents of racism in Cambridge, whites trying to kick black children out of a school in order to take the building over for their own kids, etc. ...that's the Cambridgeport/Maynard School issue!

In a way, I'm glad that this happened to Prof. Gates. If it had happened to anyone else less prominent it would not have been news. Now, the world can see how racist the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts really is.

************************************************************

Harvard Professor Gates Arrested

Tue July 21, 2009


From Deb Brunswick
CNN

(CNN) -- African-American scholar and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested last week on a charge of disorderly conduct after a confrontation with an officer at his home, according to a Cambridge, Massachusetts, police report.

Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested last week on a charge of disorderly conduct.

According to the report, officers responded to a call Thursday from a woman who said she saw "a man wedging his shoulder into the front door" at Gates' house near the university. The report, obtained by CNN affiliate WCVB-TV, indicates Gates refused to identify himself to a police officer, claiming the officer was a racist.

Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department stated in the report that he told Gates he was investigating a report of a break-in at the residence. According to the report, Gates "opened the front door and exclaimed, 'Why, because I'm a black man in America?' "

Crowley wrote in the report that he warned Gates two times he was becoming disorderly. After Gates continued to yell and accuse him of racial bias, Crowley wrote he arrested Gates for "loud and tumultuous behavior in a public space."

A statement by Gates' lawyer and fellow Harvard professor Charles Ogletree said that the incident occurred when Gates returned to his home after a trip to China.

Gates, accompanied by a driver, found the front door damaged.

He entered the house with his key through the rear door. Then, he and and driver were able to force the front door open, Ogletree said in his statement.

Don't Miss
WCVB: Police report of incident
The statement was published on the Web site The Root, of which Gates is editor-in-chief.

An officer arrived and told Gates he was investigating a call about a breaking-and-entering at the residence, Ogletree wrote.

Gates identified himself at the officer's request, according to Ogletree.

"He [Gates] turned to walk into the kitchen where he had left his wallet. The officer followed him. Professor Gates handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver's license to the officer," Ogletree wrote on The Root.

Ogletree's statement also said that Gates asked Crowley for his name and badge number several times without success.

Then, when Gates followed Crowley to the front door, Crowley said, "Thank you for accommodating my earlier request, and then placed him [Gates] under arrest," Ogletree said.

The Cambridge Police Department would not release any information regarding the incident.

Gates has one of 20 prestigious "university professors" positions at Harvard University, according to WCVB, and joined the faculty in 1991. He is considered one of the nation's pre-eminent scholars of African-American studies. In 1997, Time magazine placed him on its list of the 25 most influential Americans .
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The person who made the call which started the chain of events is identified as one Lucia Whalen (40) of Malden, MA.