"FIRM...but fair" with Jeffery A. Faulkerson  

On Thursday, July 30, 2009, United States President Barack Obama sat down with Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Cambridge Police Department sergeant James Crowley in what is being touted by the media as a “beer summit.”  According to media reports, and statements issued by both Dr. Gates and Sgt. Crowley, the meeting went well, even though neither party offered an apology for what transpired in Cambridge, Massachusetts on July 16^th.  Their hope is they and other Americans will be able to bury the hatchet, encourage more Americans to have thought-provoking and healing conversations about America’s race problem. 

As an American, I’m all for that.  But as a black American, who also just happens to be a realist, I believe these sentiments are easily expressed but difficult to achieve.  I say this because Sgt. Leon Lashley, the black sergeant who was on the scene when Dr. Gates was arrested, had the audacity to write a letter to Sgt. Crowley in which he asked him to mention to Dr. Gates and President Obama that he is now known as the “black sergeant” and to some others as an “uncle Tom.”

When CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer read the letter during a July 30^th airing of The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, I immediately asked myself why Sgt. Lashley would go there, especially when he probably knows deep down in his heart that the shoe probably fits as it relates to this incident.  Just look at the facts in this case.  Sgt. Crowley, the colleague that he is defending, reportedly made false statements in his police report, writing that 911 caller Lucia Whalen identified the alleged burglars as “two black men.”  During a press conference held days before the Gates and Crowley White House meeting, Whalen said she never said anything about the alleged burglars’ racial identity.  But the facts also reveal Sgt. Crowley used “poor judgment” when he arrested Dr. Gates.  We must never forget that the prosecutor ultimately dropped the charges levied against Dr. Gates the day after the arrest.

In my opinion, Sgt. Lashley is now stuck between a rock and a hard place.  On one hand, he wants to be protective of Sgt. Crowley, his friend and colleague.  But on the other hand, he wants to “be down” with his black brothers and sisters.  I can understand where the brother is coming from, because, like him, I too have to walk this tight rope, as do countless other upwardly mobile black Americans.  But if I were in Sgt. Lashley’s shoes, I would remain silent.  As the only other black American on the scene, he could have said something to Dr. Gates that would have de-escalated the situation.   

If you really think about the metaphorical significance of Sgt. Lashley’s actions, you can see that his support of Sgt Crowley instead of Dr. Gates is reminiscent of those black American slaves who had the privilege of residing in the big house.  Because these House Negroes were in closer proximity to their White masters, they began to take on the identity of these same White masters.  Some of them even severed their ties to those Blacks who had the misfortune of working in the fields (i.e., the Field Negroes) under the glaring heat of the hot Sun.  Because they now had the honor of munching on a few “privilege crumbs,” they slowly began to think they were better than the Field Negroes. 

That being said, I don’t think Sgt. Lashley’s actions support the notion that he thinks he’s better than other black Americans.  What it does show, however, is the lengths some upwardly mobile black Americans will take to hold on to what they have.  Sgt. Lashley is undoubtedly a respected officer within the Cambridge Police Department, as well as a respected member of his community.  Like many of us, he has used, or uses, the money that he makes from his job to support his wife and children.  But right is right, and wrong is wrong.  And he opted to defend Sgt. Crowley, a man who is unapologetic even though the evidence against him shows that he was in the wrong on two occasions.  I know police officers aren’t pastors or priests, but aren’t they supposed to be supportive of righteous, law-abiding citizens?

What do you think?

I look forward to reading your responses.

Jeffery A. Faulkerson, MSSW

From THE PURPOSEFUL WRITER

www.purposefulwriter.blogspot.com