The whole story behind the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. has yet to be told, but readers of a new book will soon have more of the documents and critical facts that have been left out of national media coverage.
Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree was in Jackson Tuesday, June 8, to sign his latest book, The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Race, Class and Crime in America. More than 100 people gathered at the newly renovated downtown law offices of Sweet & Associates to get an advance, signed copy.
The crowd, comprised of attorneys, judges, educators, students and civil rights supporters, was anxious not only to hear the details of the Gates’ incident, but also to learn how it relates to larger issues of race and justice in our society. Ogletree said he wrote the book “to give people a clearer sense of what happened July 16, 2009 and to reveal a persistent problem of how African Americans are treated by the police on far too many occasions.”
Ogletree asserted that many people of color are presumed guilty in their dealings with law enforcement. He uses Gates’ arrest to show how differently blacks and whites can view the same situation.
Gates and his driver were seen trying to get into his house by someone who called to alert police. When officers arrived, they asked for identification which Gates provided. The altercation which ensued caused Gates to accuse police of racial profiling and officers to charge him with being disorderly. Gates called Ogletree for legal representation in the matter. Within days, the charges were dropped and the City of Cambridge, Mass., issued Gates an apology. In an effort to ease any hard feelings in the case, Gates and the officer had a well-publicized beer at the White House with President Barack Obama. Still, the national debate rages on.
“One would think we would be past the issue of racial profiling in America. But Professor Gates’ arrest reminds us that we are not there yet,” Ogletree explains. “This book is an examination of race, class and crime in America. It looks at Gates’ arrest and what we can do to respond to the problems that continue to plague our country.”
Ogletree said that ‘while the book showcases what happened with Gates, it isn’t just about him.’ “Gates and I disagree on a lot of issues, in fact during his altercation with the police he, like so many other African Americans do, raised his voice and further created an unpleasant experience,” he shared.
Dennis Sweet, managing partner for Sweet & Associates Law Firm (158 E. Pascagoula Street) worked with Ogletree and said he was one of the best trial lawyers in the country. “When we lost Ogletree to academia, many people were saddened and surprised. He has one of the best legal minds there is,” Sweet said. “It is an honor to have him in Jackson.”
Ogletree has a front row seat to much of the legal and political history that is being made in America. He is the Harvard Law School Jesse Climenko Professor of Law, and founding and executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. Ogletree is a prominent legal theorist who has made an international reputation by taking a hard look at complex issues of law and by working to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution for everyone equally under the law. He serves as an advisor to President Barack Obama and taught both the president and his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, when they were students at Harvard Law School. Every year since 2006, Professor Ogletree has been named by Ebony Magazine as one of the 100+ Most Influential Black Americans.
Signed copies of The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Race, Class and Crime in America are only available at select booksellers, including Lemuria Bookstore in Jackson until later in the month when the book will be released nationwide.
Managing Editor Othor Cain contributed to this report.
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