Race and class and the presumption of guilt often influence the nature of relationships between the community and the Police.
The Department of Justice report regarding the behavior of the Ferguson municipal courts and the Police Department demonstrates how egregious systems can become when there is a culture where vulnerability is perceived guilt is assumed. On the other hand, when one wears a Police uniform there are those who presume that the individual behind the uniform is likely to be trigger happy when it comes to people of color and especially Black men.
This piercing two-edged sword of presuming guilt presents an interesting irony: African American people and Police face the same ill effects of being judged as guilty!
Not long ago, Henry Louis Gates, the well-known professor from Harvard University was arrested for attempted burglary as he tried to get into his own house. According to Charles Ogletree, author of Presumption of Guilt, what is very interesting is that Lucia Whalen, the person calling 911, was very careful in saying, “I see two gentlemen on the porch. They might have left their key. They might work there or live there.” She never said that the men on the porch were black. Nonetheless when the particular Sergeant arrived he presumed guilt and arrested Professor Gates in spite of showing his Harvard identification and drivers license with pictures on both documents. The story went viral resulting in the now famous “beer summit” at the White House with President Obama, Joe Biden, Henry Louis Gates and Sergeant James Crowley, the policeman who presumed Dr. Gates’ guilt. A call to Harvard would have cleared up the matter.
Recently, we have observed an accelerated anti-cop sentimentality ascribed to men and women in blue with the same vengeance as the racial slurs that marked the crowds in Selma years ago. On the southside, Policemen were called derogatory names, spat at and it is alleged someone threw urine on them. Once again the presumption of guilt harms the very people that are there to protect us all.
Fortunately these kinds of incidents have been the exception rather than the rule but they demonstrate how harmful bias can be for all involved.
This tendency to presume guilt occurs in our everyday lives and often reflects our own unconscious bias. A young black man was shot and killed by Police who was holding a toy gun at a Wal-Mart in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio. The young black father was profiled by a suspicious couple and told police that, “a black man had a gun and was walking around in the store with that gun.”
These stories reflect the importance of being careful both in our language and judgment. Lucia Whalen did her part in not characterizing Professor Gates and the person with him as “black people attempting to burglarize a house.” Instead she described what she saw and qualified her statement. Though Professor Gates was arrested in spite of her efforts, her comments may have diffused a more fatal outcome. Gates then did the right thing to show his badge and drivers license and he is alive today based on thoughtful framing by Lucia.
This theme of the “presumption of guilt” will be addressed at the Missouri History Museum on May 22–May 24 with the original play, BLACK AND BLUE, written by Lee Patton Chiles and produced by Gitana Productions. You are invited to come as we peel away the presumptions and let the healing begin! Admission is free.
