Word: americanization
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...Gates, an African American studies professor who has earned 50 honorary degrees for his work and is arguably Harvard's most renowned black scholar, was arrested last Thursday at his home for disorderly conduct. Police reports and statements from Gates' lawyer suggest that police officers, investigating a tip of a possible break-in at Gates' Cambridge home, got into a confrontation with the 58-year-old professor, who was returning home from a trip to China and forced his way through a jammed front door with a car driver's help...
...Faculty in the department of African and African American Studies interviewed Tuesday commented more explicitly about the persistence of racial profiling in American society, noting that the police actions were indicative of a lapse of communication and racial understanding plaguing much of the country...
...This is not all that surprising that this would happen to an African American man, and even to somebody of Skip Gates' stature," said James H. Sidanius, a psychology and African American studies professor whose area of study includes institutional discrimination and group conflict. "These things happen all too often, where African Americans are disproportionally stopped by police more than others, disproportionally detained for arrest, and disproportionately found guilty and sentenced to prison...
Walter Johnson, another African American studies professor, wrote in an e-mailed statement that the charge of disorderly conduct in one's own home was absurd and that "the structure of ideas and institutions which render such action commonsensical in this society are appalling." And Michèle Lamont, a sociology and African American studies professor who specializes in American race relations, called the arrest "egregious" and said that the incident helped expose the need for broader racial dialogue not only within the Harvard community but also in the broader Cambridge area...
...Harvard President Drew G. Faust said in a statement Tuesday that she continues to be "deeply troubled by the incident," although she is gratified that the charges have been dropped. She added that "legacies of racial injustice remain an unfortunate and painful part of the American experience" and that "we can and must do better." [CLARIFICATION APPENDED...