One would think the public has heard the last from distinguished Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates jr., but there he goes again. When “Skip” Gates is not teaching or lecturing on African-American History, or as a spokesman for Public Television (PBS), he is helping famous celebrities, both Black and White, to find out about their ancestral, ethnic, and cultural roots. Now it seems that the esteemed Professor is graciously donating the handcuffs placed around his wrists for the “Disorderly Conduct” charge by the Cambridge, MA police department and Sgt. James Crowley to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.; according to the Tacoma News Tribune section A2, 2/14/2010 and featured in The New York Times Magazine on the same date.
There is just no quit in this man and it seems that he is just determined to write his own concluding narrative of this nearly forgotten and equally insignificant much-to-do-about nothing;’ or maybe it was his opportunistic self-aggrandizing moment, grandstanding, or pompous self-important attempt to grab the public’s attention; which he did rather successfully, including that of his old friend and fellow Alumni member, President Barack Obama.
Preserving the first pair of handcuffs worn by Martin Luther King jr., Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, or some other historic or spiritual icon is one thing; but for “Skip,” the final verdict just might be out on that one. Now, after having said all of this, of course the idea of donating something of value or significance to the National Museum and Library does have merit, and if there is a device large enough to wrap around Professor Gates rather enormously inflated ego, then that would be a rare cultural treasure, indeed.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
February 14, 2010
pbks@hotmail.com
