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Probably not an issue of race, but...
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Improving race relations in America has to start here.
The documented history of race relations in America is not on our side when it comes to the issue of minorities and law enforcement. From racial profiling to police brutality, contacts between police officers and minorities are usually uneasy, and end much too often in either an arrest, injury, or death.
A prominent Black American scholar and professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr., was arrested at his home for "disorderly conduct" on the afternoon of July 16, 2009, immediately after having returned home from an overseas research trip.
Mr. Gates (as has been reported) tried to enter his home and was unsuccessful because the front door was jammed. A neighbor who saw Mr. Gates unsuccessfully attempt to enter his home believed that there might be a burglary in progress and contacted the police to investigate.
So far, so good!
Mr. Gates was inside his home when the police arrived. During the course of the investigation, tempers flared, and the end result was the arrest of Mr. Gates for disorderly conduct.
Not so good.
Here is the problem (a problem that is difficult to dispute): at the time the police officers were able to determine that Mr. Gates was in his own home - game over. The officers should have left the property immediately - no need to continue the investigation.
The incident did not start out as an issue of race - however, the end result makes it somewhat difficult to prove (given the history of police/minority contacts) that race was not a factor in Mr. Gates arrest.
President Obama, who is a personal friend of Mr. Gates, weighed in on the incident saying that the arrest should not have taken place, and that the Cambridge Police Department "acted stupidly" in their handling of the call. The president (openly biased) readdressed the incident the following day stating that his comments were "unfortunate," and that they were not meant to offend the arresting officer.
A ray of hope
We all would probably agree that this incident could have been handled much better by all parties involved, but there is a "ray of hope." The disputing parties will meet at the White House with President Obama to reconcile their differences - a meeting that is sure to be a historically ground-breaking event in the area of race relations.
The president is doing what all great leaders do - seizing the opportunity to take a negative and turn it into a positive.
President Obama can now directly address and impact (through a hands-on effort) the course of race relations in this country. He cannot afford to allow this effort to fail.
If the president intends to continue promoting democracy abroad, he has to demonstrate that he can make it work right here at home. Improving race relations in America will strengthen democracy worldwide, and if there is any significant progress that is to be made in the area of race relations, it will have to start in the Oval Office.
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