At 6:00 p.m. later this evening, President Obama is scheduled to host what's being called the "beer summit", with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and Sgt. James Crowley, the police officer who arrested him two weeks ago (July 16) for disorderly conduct, and then released him.
The arrest took on racial overtones, when Professor Gates (who is black) suggested that he was being racially profiled by Sgt. Gates (who is white). Unfortunately, for the Gates cause, it was made known in the days following the incident that Sgt. Gates is an expert in racial profiling and has taught a class on it to other police academy recruits for 5 years. In addition, the 911 caller who originally reported the apparent break-in has confirmed that she did not mention the race of the suspects in her call (and this Portuguese-American woman is pleading that people and bloggers stop vilifying her as a racist, because as the recorded 911 calls confirm, she didn't even suggest 911 dispatcher that the suspects were black.)
A day or so after the incident, President Obama fueled the flames of the situation by expressing saying that the Cambridge police "acted stupidly", after already acknowledging that he didn't have all of the facts in the arrest of his friend, "Skip" Gates. As a result of that decision to weigh into the local matter, Obama has found himself in the midst of a firestorm and has attempted to back-pedal, apologize, and figure out how to diffuse the growing controversy (which as NPR recaps, is causing his poll numbers to continue to drop. In fact, other polling data confirms the negative impact of Obama's handling of this situation.) Thus, the bringing together of the two parties in the controversy to allow the elixir of peace to promote love and harmony among the races. Okay, maybe not. :) Even with this attempt at restoring order (or at least the delicate balancing of racial tensions which exist in our culture), even Obama recognizes that tossing a few back with the guys at the picnic table out behind the White House can only go so far. And it has already been reported that it has as much to do with restoring his own damaged image in the minds of the American people as it does with healing the racial wounds in our country.
Not being black, I will be the first to admit that I can't begin to truly comprehend what the "black experience" is in America. There have been a few times when I have been in the minority (most recently when I do ministry events up in Detroit, for example), and I always find such experiences to be extremely valuable personally. While I gain a little better understanding of what that experience might be like for minorities in this country and culture, I am in no way able to fully comprehend the impact of the black perspective from either a contemporary or historical point of view. In fact, there are probably those who might even suggest that I as a white person (and, dare I say, someone who grew up in Martinsville, IN--read, "one of the hotbeds of the KKK in the early 20th century"), am disqualified from rendering an opinion. I would argue, though that not having the actually experience of something should not disqualify attempts at empathy and/or observations about events in our culture.
The point here is that this particular incident has exposed not only the racial undercurrent that still lingers in this country, but it has also shed light on many of the various misconceptions that exist--from whites, blacks, and everyone in between--where these racial issues are concerned. Often unacknowledged, but equally true, is the fact that blacks can be just as racist toward whites as whites are to blacks. It is not a white or black thing; it is a human thing, and stems from the fallen human condition by which we're all contaminated.
The key, as this incident demonstrated, is to look past stereotypes and pre-conceived biases from both sides and evaluate the facts as best as we can. Are there police officers who abuse their authority, or who treated those suspects of a different color differently? Certainly there are. Do all police officers (especially white officers) fall in that category? Not even close. Most police officers take their commission very seriously to "protect and serve" all citizens with professionalism, good judgment and courageous self-sacrifice. Are there blacks, latinos, and other minorities who have been abused by the system? Most definitely. Do all minorities walk around with a chip on their shoulder, where whites and authorities figures are concerned? Presumably not.
The sad thing in this case, however, is that it seems that Professor Gates falls into the category of those who are more inclined to revert to a default position of antagonism toward a white police officer, rather than giving that officer the benefit of the doubt. As commentator Ruben Navarrette (a moderate-to-liberal Latino op-ed writer with whom I don't often agree, by the way), writes, the "contempt of cop" approach that Professor Gates exhibited was uncalled for and certainly not conducive for resolving the incident peacefully. In fact, Navarrette goes on to say,
I'm surprised that, with all the knowledge that Gates has acquired on the way to becoming one of the nation's most renowned public intellectuals, he never learned how to talk to a police officer - and, more importantly, how not to talk to one.
As much as I may vigorously disagree with most of the policies and philosophical convictions expressed by our current president, I can strongly agree that the election of a black president like Barack Obama is a good thing for this country, where racial progress is concerned. But it is only one step on what continues to be a long journey.
As long as we have these kinds of incidents brought to our collective consciousness, we will have opportunities to wrestle through our past, and more importantly, work together to shape our future. The perfect utopia that so many idealize will never happen as long as fallen human beings live on this planet. That is just the way it is. But progress toward peaceful harmony among people of different beliefs, backgrounds, cultures--and even skin colors--is possible, as long as we willing to approach this subject with love, humility, and a genuine desire to actually get to know our neighbors. Maybe, if nothing else, that will be one of the outcomes of Obama's "beer summit". We can hope so. 
UPDATE: Here's another perspective from Harry R. Jackson, Jr., an African-American commentator. Also, here's Gary Varvel's latest cartoon cleverly satirizing tonight's summit. By the way, "it's not a summit," Obama said, it's just a beer.
UPDATE: Here's something else to think about in this particular incident. Sgt. James Crowley has publicly stated that he doesn't feel the need to apologize for his role in this controversy. From his perspective, and from the perspectives of other superiors in his department (including African-American officers), he handled the situation correctly. In light of that, and the obvious political motivations behind Obama's invitation to the White House, would you accept the offer to come to the White House for a beer if the president invited you? The most immediate, and presumably obvious, answer would be "Yes, definitely!" But on further reflection, would that be your answer? Maybe so/maybe not. I'm not so sure that I would. But that's just me. Let me know what you think. :)
heck yeah i'd go visit with the president. to have the ear of the most powerful man in the world for few minutes would be something not to pass up, beer or not.
Posted by: andy | July 31, 2009 at 03:25 PM