The Gates Incident: Racial Profiling in Black and White

African American men have been accosted, beaten, and jailed for no other reason except for the color of their skin throughout our nation’s history, the rationale being that they “fit the description” of some criminal, and it has continued in many places. This has particularly been the case along this country’s streets and highways, as the term “DWB” – Driving While Black – has been a common one in recent decades.

With that being said, it’s natural and almost inevitable that many, if not most, black men in America would, at best, feel threatened and defensive when stopped by a cop while simply walking down the street or driving to work. I have felt that way myself, and will likely feel that way again if a policeman stopped me while I was minding my own business.

I know full well that many whites feel that blacks who claim racial profiling and harassment are playing the race card and crying wolf. That the police are merely doing their jobs, what has happened in the past is ancient history, and that they should stop whining about so-called “mistreatment” and just “get over it”. 

What those people don’t understand is that while law enforcement is supposed to be fair, equal, and without bias, it rarely is – or has been – as long as there have been police departments and black people in this country.

Putting it another way – how many white men have been stopped and handcuffed in an all-black neighborhood for “looking suspicious”? How many have been stopped on the road for “Driving While White”? And how many have been harassed, beaten, and called racial epithets by cops for no reason other than their white skin?

If there is even one white man who has experienced any of these things, I would very much like to meet him.

As for Gates, while he could have been calmer in his dealings with Crowley, he should not shoulder the entire blame here.

When any group of people have been treated the way African American men have been treated by the police for well over a hundred years, and have continued to be treated, it is nearly impossible to simply “get over it” and disregard such history.

Most blacks who are stopped by cops and are innocent will feel as they are attacked, harassed, threatened, and profiled.

That’s the essential point that needs to be made.

All that I am asking is that whites at least try to understand the black point of view in this issue. Perhaps then some real dialogue would result from all of this.