• The Gates Case Roundup

    Mistaken identity? The woman’s statement — corroborated by the police commissioner — means that much of the media commentary over the last week about the incident has been based on a faulty premise: that the police report is accurate. Moreover, tapes of the 911 call were released midday Monday. “One thing the tapes didn’t show:…

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  • 'Unknown on Race'

    Listen here. The Transcript Dispatcher: Respond to 17 Ware Street for a possible B and E in progress. Two SPs (suspicious persons) barged their way into the home, they have suitcases. R-P 5 – SP. Stand by, trying to get further. Officer 52 (Crowley): 52. Ware Street right now, 17? Dispatcher: 17 Ware Street ……

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  • Gates Says 'Yes' to Beer With Crowley

    Statement from Henry Louis Gates, Jr. “It was very kind of the President to phone me today.  Vernon Jordan is absolutely correct: my unfortunate experience will only have a larger meaning if we can all use this to diminish racial profiling and to enhance fairness and equity in the criminal justice system for poor people and…

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  • President Obama's Statement on the Henry Louis Gates Jr. Arrest

    THE PRESIDENT: Hey, it’s a cameo appearance. Sit down, sit down. I need to help Gibbs out a little bit here. Q Are you the new press secretary? THE PRESIDENT: If you got to do a job, do it yourself. (Laughter.) I wanted to address you guys directly because over the last day and a…

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  • Obama Calls Sgt. Crowley

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Knocked off stride by a racial uproar he helped stoke, President Barack Obama hastened Friday to tamp down the controversy. Obama, who had said Cambridge, Mass., police “acted stupidly” in arresting black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., declared the white arresting officer was a good man and invited him and the professor…

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  • 'Black in America 2' in Review

    What does being black in America mean today? Does CNN’s ambitious program break the surface in explaining the black experience? Join The Root staff and readers as we partner with Black Web 2.0 to discuss “Black in America 2” with a panel of young professionals and academics. The second segment of “Black in America 2”…

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  • Beige in America

    Come on, Soledad. We’re about to see our second “Black in America” series in two years, and it’s only fair to surmise that after the way Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings went down, plans for “Brown in America” will soon be underway. But before you start production on “Brown” or start making plans for “Black…

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  • Lawyer's Statement on the Arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr.

    UPDATE: The disorderly conduct charges against Henry Louis Gates Jr. were dropped on Tuesday. Statement on Behalf of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. — by Charles Ogletree This brief statement is being submitted on behalf of my client, friend, and colleague, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. This is a statement concerning the arrest of Professor Gates.…

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  • Stay in Your Lane, Beyoncé

    When I saw that Nia Long was a trending topic on Twitter, I thought either A) she died or B) she and Larenz Tate were going to do a sequel to Love Jones. Neither was true. But what was happening was even more compelling. Beyoncé was getting called out for her “acting” skills. In an…

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  • Studying War Some More

    The Hurt Locker is not a great war film. It doesn’t glorify combat or condemn battle. It does not try to explain why conflict exists. It does not salute the dead or mourn their deaths. It’s an explosive and honest rendering of what happens in war zones. The film, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, focuses on…

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