When Can A Black Man Get Angry? The Arrest of a Harvard Scholar

It took me some time to sit down and complete this piece for many reasons. First I had to allow time for my angst over the suspicious arrest of yet another Black man by law enforcement to subside. Then I had to allow slanted and biased media reports on the issue to settle as everyone except Black people ran to the defense of the officer. And when it was least expected, a White House press conference on health care reform turned into an all out media attack on President Obama for his claiming the officer acted stupidly. But with all the hoopla, I was determined to sit down and write about the issue of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates JrHenry Louis Gates Jr arrest for disorderly conduct in a professional, objective manner. Relying on my journalism training I was prepared to speak about the evils of racial profiling and was more than ready to use and cite a litany of priors to support my assertions. But as the week continued to unfold, I finally scrapped all of it when one recurring question kept hitting my brain over and over again, “When can a Black man get angry”?

I read the police report. I read the Massachusetts statute for disorderly conduct. I tried my best to read with objectivity accounts of the people who rallied to the defense of the officer claiming him to be everything shy of Mother Teresa reincarnated. I also listened to the many comments referencing Henry Louis Gates as an angry Black man who hates White people. The same Gates I believe had a White spouse. But again the nagging question kept coming back to me, “At what point in America does a Black man have the right to be angry?”

Was anger acceptable after the brutal death of 14 year old Emmet Till in Mississippi over 50 years ago at the hands of two angry White men who were quickly acquitted yet admitted to the crime years later in a national magazine? Was it acceptable for Black men to be angry after the acquittal of the White police officers who were observed on video tape angrily and brutally beating motorist Rodney KingRodney King almost 40 years after Till’s case? Let’s fast forward to 2008. Should any Black man have been angry when they observed on videotape the White officer who stopped Texan running back Ryan Moats after he failed to yield on his way to the hospital after being told his relative had only a short time to live? Moats appeared frustrated yet calm while the officer was heard berating the NFL player regarding his failure to yield. Officer Robert Powell threatened Moats with arrest on several occasions during the exchange even drawing a gun on his wife as she exited the vehicle ignoring his commands to stop as she raced inside the hospital to her mother’s deathbed.

And Barack ObamaBarack Obama, could he have ever become President Obama had he shown any signs of anger on his face as he absorbed brutal attacks on his road to the White House from fellow Democrats like Hillary and Bill ClintonBill Clinton, Republicans, neocons and right wing conservative talk show hosts? It was his cool demeanor in the face of attacks that drew stark contrast to his opponent Senator John McCainJohn McCain during the presidential debates that aided his candidacy and helped him escape the “Angry Black Man” tag.

It seems in America, often times a minority is not allowed the luxury of expressing a full range of human emotions. They are rarely given the benefit of the doubt in these circumstances and there always appears to be a rush to judgment. It was only a scant few weeks back when Supreme Court Justice Nominee Sonia Sotomayor was characterized as angry and racist by her detractors. So again, I ask, when can a Black man become angry? What set of circumstances or misdeeds make it an acceptable time for Black men to show public anger? And if they do, why does it more often than not end with an arrest or similar threat of detention in some form? If we arrested people for just being angry it seems to me that Rush LimbaughRush Limbaugh, Sean HannitySean Hannity, Glenn BeckGlenn Beck and Ann CoulterAnn Coulter would be serving hard time right now.

It appears when some law enforcement is faced with the option to make “discretionary arrests” Black men always seem to fall on the losing end of the equation. These officers have the freedom and authority to judge a situation and make a decision about it but when there is a Black man involved, the verdict always seems to default to guilty until proven guilty.

I don’t know what really happened in Cambridge on July 16 because I wasn’t there to observe first hand. But as former President Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter has stated in the past, race always appears to be a factor in America. The 9-1-1 caller appeared before media upset because some people are claiming she referenced the possible perpetrators as Black on the emergency call. She may be right but the police report indicates she referred to them as two Black men in her discussions with Sgt. Crowley, the arresting officer. In the report it appears Gates became angry when he was asked for ID to prove he lived in his house. He allegedly yelled and make comments like “This is what happens to Black men in America”. According to the report, he allegedly called the officer a racist a few times to his face and a few times indirectly. But that is where the police report gets very shaky to me. The narrative starts to read like a John GrishamJohn Grisham novel where the sentences are lined up and written in a very legal manner to conveniently fit the legal description of disorderly conduct. In the narrative, Gates yelling in his own home appeared legal until he stepped outside where a small crowd could hear his rants. The public, being able to hear his anger, gave Crowley the legal basis and discretion to arrest him.

Again, all of it begs the question, when can a Black man get angry? When is it okay for a Black man to disagree with a procedure they perceive as racial profiling without the risk of losing their freedom?

The arrest of Gates brings to the forefront the issue of racial profiling that has dogged America since the abolition of slavery. Much like President Obama, I grew up in a generation that benefited from the Civil Rights movement. Our stories about racial relations are tame compared to what our parents went through therefore our attitudes towards Whites and racial relations are more optimistic. But it does not mean racism doesn’t exist.

How we define racism has a lot to do with what we perceive as injustice. There is a huge difference to me in being racist and being prejudice. I believe prejudice is merely a dislike of what is different or unknown based on a limited view or limited exposure. But racism, in my opinion, is when one believes that another race is inherently inferior by birth. The racist staunchly believes their race is superior. It is more than a perception of one incident but a way of life where one views an entire race as inferior. The Glenn Becks and Rush Limbaughs who race bait to enhance their careers aren’t the ones to really fear. Although their words often inflame, they are merely the poster children. Real harm from racism is usually exhibited subtly and not always very obvious. Let’s take Kayne West as an example. After Hurricane Katrina, he implied on national television that President BushPresident Bush was racist by stating Bush did not like Black people. People were outraged and lined up to condemn his statement, including people who thought he was right but should not have maligned the President’s character in a national forum like television. But when Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh in no uncertain terms called President Obama a racist, you could hear a pin drop from the quiet reaction to the inflammatory comments. Why a different response? Why so little coverage? Is it that the honor of a White President is more valuable than the honor of a Black one? A racist would say yes because one is “inherently superior” to the other.

It seems any public acknowledgement of racial profiling by police always leads to a cry of playing the race card if the person saying it is Black. But when is there profiling? According to right wing talk shows, it doesn’t exist in America therefore there never should be a frank discussion on the topic. It is not a card or a game I am playing. I have several Black men very close to me that have been stopped several times for what they believe is for DWB – Driving While Black. It is not rooted in some conjured up conspiracy like right wing radio espouses but is real and supported by facts and evidence in a recurring pattern all over America not just 50 years ago but still happening 50 minutes ago somewhere in the US.

I don’t believe Sgt. Crowley is a racist. But there is enough in this exchange for me to believe he abused his discretionary power as an officer. He may not like that someone is “mischaracterizing him as a racist” but he did not have the right to allow his personal insulted feelings to supersede the law in this case. Even if he could stretch his police report to fit the standard, the facts of the arrest would not have met the burden of proof. I believe that is why the misdemeanor charge against Gates was eventually dropped, not because Gates had a hook up as some suggests.

Gates could have chosen better words or even chosen to remain quiet so the incident would not escalate. Hindsight is always 20-20. But his anger is valid and rooted in the reality of race in America. As an American and a human being that felt wronged at the time, he was within his right to express the human emotion of anger without threat to his freedom, even if he is a Black man.