- Home
- Editorial and Opinion
- It Really was a Man Thang
It Really was a Man Thang
- By Roy Douglas Malonson
- Published 08/3/2009
- Editorial and Opinion
- Unrated
Roy Douglas Malonson
Roy D. Malonson is publisher of the African-American News&Issues.
View all articles by Roy Douglas Malonson
President Obama doesn’t owe anyone one damn apology. Not the Cambridge Police Department, not police Sgt. James Crowley, not his friend Henry “Skip” Gates Jr., and certainly not the legion of Whites who couldn’t see past his color (as mixed as it might be) to cast a vote for him. It’s funny that those who never have to worry about being followed around in a store by undercover security; never have to give an understanding nod to someone who pretends that they left something when the elevator door opens to reveal them standing there; have never been mistaken for the janitor when you are the owner; don’t think racial profiling exist.
Ten years ago, on June 9, 1999, President Bill Clinton wrote a Memorandum for the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the Interior. Clinton stated, “We must work together to build the trust of all Americans in law enforcement. We have great confidence in our Federal law enforcement officers and know that they strive to uphold the best principles of law enforcement in our democratic society. We cannot tolerate, however, officers who cross the line and abuse their position by mistreating law-abiding individuals or who bring their own racial bias to the job. No person should be subject to excessive force, and no person should be targeted by law enforcement because of the color of his or her skin. Stopping or searching individuals on the basis of race is not effective law enforcement policy, and is not consistent with our democratic ideals, especially our commitment to equal protection under the law for all persons. It is neither legitimate nor defensible as a strategy for public protection. It is simply wrong.”
What happened between Gates and Crowley was more a case of it being a man thang, than racial profiling. Gates was basically cornered in his home, his castle, his domain, and got angry when the straight-laced, choir-boy, civil rights leader, (if you are to believe the reports) Crowley accosted and questioned him. Perhaps the years of studying about and teaching about Blacks in America and becoming the “nation’s most famous Black scholar,” came crashing down around him and it became a matter of a man-vs.-man confrontation.
Perhaps Crowley didn’t see a Black man. Although that is hard to believe because regardless of what they say publicly, police officers are trained to profile—racially and criminally. When I went through the Citizens Police Academy at the Houston Police Department, our instructor shared with us some C.S.I. standard operating procedure.
“If you find a pack of Kools at the scene, the perpetrator was Black. If you find a pack of Benson and Hedges, the perpetrator was White.” And that was just the opening statement.
I know that was years ago and Houston is thousands of miles away from Cambridge, but police departments around the world know damn well profiling exists. Crowley couldn’t stand being bucked by a man who happened to be Black. Unfortunately, he had the badge on his side and as most of us know, the majority of the laws in this country were not written for Black folk.
Isn’t it interesting that the district attorney almost immediately dropped the charges? Before Obama offered to mediate the racially divisive aftermath, Gates accused Crowley of having a “broad imagination” when he summarized the “confrontation” in police reports. “I believe the police officer should apologize to me for what he knows he did that was wrong,” Gates said as he chilled in Martha’s Vineyard, where he also lives.
“If he apologizes sincerely, I am willing to forgive him. And if he admits his error, I am willing to educate him about the history of racism in America and the issue of racial profiling … That’s what I do for a living.”
Ten years ago, on June 9, 1999, President Bill Clinton wrote a Memorandum for the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the Interior. Clinton stated, “We must work together to build the trust of all Americans in law enforcement. We have great confidence in our Federal law enforcement officers and know that they strive to uphold the best principles of law enforcement in our democratic society. We cannot tolerate, however, officers who cross the line and abuse their position by mistreating law-abiding individuals or who bring their own racial bias to the job. No person should be subject to excessive force, and no person should be targeted by law enforcement because of the color of his or her skin. Stopping or searching individuals on the basis of race is not effective law enforcement policy, and is not consistent with our democratic ideals, especially our commitment to equal protection under the law for all persons. It is neither legitimate nor defensible as a strategy for public protection. It is simply wrong.”
What happened between Gates and Crowley was more a case of it being a man thang, than racial profiling. Gates was basically cornered in his home, his castle, his domain, and got angry when the straight-laced, choir-boy, civil rights leader, (if you are to believe the reports) Crowley accosted and questioned him. Perhaps the years of studying about and teaching about Blacks in America and becoming the “nation’s most famous Black scholar,” came crashing down around him and it became a matter of a man-vs.-man confrontation.
Perhaps Crowley didn’t see a Black man. Although that is hard to believe because regardless of what they say publicly, police officers are trained to profile—racially and criminally. When I went through the Citizens Police Academy at the Houston Police Department, our instructor shared with us some C.S.I. standard operating procedure.
“If you find a pack of Kools at the scene, the perpetrator was Black. If you find a pack of Benson and Hedges, the perpetrator was White.” And that was just the opening statement.
I know that was years ago and Houston is thousands of miles away from Cambridge, but police departments around the world know damn well profiling exists. Crowley couldn’t stand being bucked by a man who happened to be Black. Unfortunately, he had the badge on his side and as most of us know, the majority of the laws in this country were not written for Black folk.
Isn’t it interesting that the district attorney almost immediately dropped the charges? Before Obama offered to mediate the racially divisive aftermath, Gates accused Crowley of having a “broad imagination” when he summarized the “confrontation” in police reports. “I believe the police officer should apologize to me for what he knows he did that was wrong,” Gates said as he chilled in Martha’s Vineyard, where he also lives.
“If he apologizes sincerely, I am willing to forgive him. And if he admits his error, I am willing to educate him about the history of racism in America and the issue of racial profiling … That’s what I do for a living.”