Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy

Common card · No. 302241

On July 16, 2009, Harvard University professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. was arrested at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by local police officer Sgt. James Crowley, who was responding to a 911 caller's report of men breaking and entering the residence. The arrest initiated a series of events that unfolded under the spotlight of the international news media. The arrest occurred just after Gates returned home to Cambridge after a trip to China to research the ancestry of Yo-Yo Ma for Faces of America. Gates found the front door to his home jammed shut and, with the help of his driver, tried to force it open. A local witness reported their activity to the police as a potential burglary in progress. Accounts regarding the ensuing confrontation differ, but Gates was arrested by the responding officer, Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley, and charged with disorderly conduct. On July 21, five days following the arrest, the charges against Gates were dropped. The arrest generated a national...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Henry_Louis_Gates_Jr.jpg: Jon Irons James_Crowley.jpg: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza derivative work: Jayen466, CC BY-SA 3.0