Thanks to one of the comments on my earlier post today, I checked MSNBC.com to find out that the charges against Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. were dropped.

Excerpt from the article on MSNBC.com:

“Prosecutors on Tuesday agreed to drop a disorderly conduct charge against Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. after the noted African-American scholar accused police of racism when he was arrested at his home following a report of a break-in there.

In a statement, the city and police department of Cambridge, Mass., said they had “recommended to the Middlesex County District Attorney that the criminal charge against Professor Gates not proceed.”

“This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of Professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department. All parties agree that this is a just resolution to an unfortunate set of circumstances,” the statement continued.”

Well, there we have it.  I’m glad that the charges have been dropped and this situation resolved; however, I do hope that we continue to view this as a sign that racism and racial profiling still exist.  We cannot continue to ignore the persistent role that racism plays in our society; whether blatant or covert.

Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the pre-eminent African American studies scholar, was arrested after attempting to get into his locked home.

Here’s a snippet of an article posted on MSNBC.com:

“Police responding to a call about “two black males” breaking into a home near Harvard University ended up arresting the man who lives there — Henry Louis Gates Jr., the pre-eminent African-American studies scholar.

Gates had forced his way through the front door because it was jammed, his lawyer said. Colleagues call the arrest last Thursday afternoon a clear case of racial profiling.

Cambridge police say they responded to the well-maintained two-story home after a woman reported seeing “two black males with backpacks on the porch,” with one “wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry.”…

He was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after police said he “exhibited loud and tumultuous behavior.” He was released later that day on his own recognizance. An arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 26. Police refused to comment on the arrest Monday.

Gates, 58, also refused to speak publicly Monday, referring calls to his attorney, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree…

Ogletree said Gates had returned from a trip to China on Thursday with a driver, when he found his front door jammed. He went through the back door into the home — which he leases from Harvard — shut off an alarm and worked with the driver to get the door open. The driver left, and Gates was on the phone with the property’s management company when police first arrived.”

Hmmm…I must say that it will be interesting to see how this turns out, and how Harvard University and Cambridge respond to this incident.  I can most definitely understand Gates’ perspective in this situation, and what bothers me most is that there is the automatic assumption by the caller that these two black men must be breaking into a house.  At no point does it ever cross the caller’s mind that this person might live there, that their door might be jammed.

Would there have been the same action taken if the only thing different about the scenario was that it was two white men seen at the house?  While I’d like to say yes, my experience has taught me that the answer would be no.  But I guess we’ll never know.

The bottom line is that when it comes to race in America, we still have a ways to go.