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The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Race, Class and Crime in America |  | Author: Charles Ogletree
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
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Rating:  8 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 023010326X
Dewey Decimal Number: 810.9896073
EAN: 9780230103269
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Product Description
Shortly after noon on Tuesday, July 16, 2009, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., MacArthur Fellow and Harvard professor, was mistakenly arrested by Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley for attempting to break into his own home. The ensuing media firestorm ignited debate across the country. The Crowley-Gates incident was a clash of absolutes, underscoring the tension between black and white, police and civilians, and the privileged and less privileged in modern America. Charles Ogletree, one of the countryâs foremost experts on civil rights, uses this incident as a lens through which to explore issues of race, class, and crime, with the goal of creating a more just legal system for all. Working from years of research and based on his own classes and experiences with law enforcement, the author illuminates the steps needed to embark on the long journey toward racial and legal equality for all Americans.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
 Valuable Contribution July 13, 2010
Meryl M. (Los Angeles, California)
10 out of 15 found this review helpful
Prof. Ogletree has made a major contribution to what some have called
a 'he said/ he said' incident.
Prof. Gates should be able to say whatever he wants to without triggering
an unprofessional response from an immature policeman.the cop, Crowley, actually went back to his station log
And wrote lies about the case: including that 'two men wearing backpacks were trying to break into a house'. In fact the woman who called in the report didn't mention any backpacks (there were
None), and she also added that the men might live there.
Crowley went into the house, dtermined that Gates lived there but arrested
Him anyway. The tired Gates (just coming back from a trip to China) spent five hours at the police station, while
Crowley added more distortions to his log.
What is frightening about the aftermath of this shameful incident is the way
cops uniformly lined up on the side of Crowley, facts notwithstanding. Ogletree has done a good job of documenting this,
and this is valuable because of the 'beer summit',
Which tended to deny and dilute the blatant racist injury to Gates.
This is just one, famous, incident of a bullying cop misusing his own power. It's the tiny tip of the iceberg of the ways
Blacks are treated in every city every single day -- with impunity.
A "must read" August 16, 2010
stanley king
Prof. Ogletree's "Presumption of Guilt" is an extremely valuable book. It not only objectively illustrates the facts surrounding the arrest of Prof. Gates by the Cambridge Police but more importantly, it shares with the world a scab on the psyche of most African American men and the injuries that caused it. The topic of race by itself is extremely polarizing. However, when race is discussed within the context of police conduct or misconduct, it often creates a toxic "us versus them" impass that is impenetrable. This book undertakes this daunting task and does an excellent job.
Facts are stubborn things, and Prof. Ogletree has presented facts that any reader can evaluate for themselves despite their socio-political leanings. Most men of African descent in America will testify that if they personally have not experienced an incident similar to those depicted in this book, they know of someone Black who has. The "scab" on the African American male psyche previously mentioned is the realization that despite your education, income, character, and overall accomplishments, your gender coupled with your skin color has permanently maimed you in the sight of law enforcement. More eloqently stated, it has created a Presumption of Guilt. This book has the potential of opening a much needed discussion about race and law enforcement in this country. Professor Ogletree has courageously illuminated a ugly fact that is not popular, political or safe. It is simply right. I would recommend this book to all people interested in justice and helping this country live up to its ideals.
Brilliant and Well Done July 20, 2010
Emmett G. Price III
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
THE PRESUMPTION OF GUILT: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Race, Class, and Crime in America is a brilliantly composed treatise on one of the most challenging and polarizing issues within the Unites States - justice. Written by one of the leading authorities, educators and activists on issues of race, justice, civil rights and the law, this book is a must read for any citizen concerned with uncovering the tensions resulting from the misguided abuse of power while discovering corrective measures to protect the presumption of innocence for all.
Prof. Ogletree's exposé on the arrest of Prof. "Skip" Gates and the clever analysis of race, class and crime in the United States is a tremendous contribution to an ongoing exchange of monologues that hopefully will evolve into a substantial and meaningful dialogue. Conversation of a post-racial era is effectively refocused on whether we have reached justice and equality for all. From issues of trust and respect to police discretion and citizen's rights, THE PRESUMPTION OF GUILT puts the "Skip" Gates event into a historical chronicle that is long enough and broad enough to reveal a disturbing pattern. Regardless of what side of the proverbial, bi-passionate bickering one might find oneself on, the amount of media coverage, blogs, editorials and even comedy spoofs reveals that there is something there to be dealt with, even if we continue to deny it. Prof. Ogletree challenges the nation to deal with the "elephant in the room."
With THE PRESUMPTION OF GUILT, Prof. Ogletree touches on the challenges of the current criminal justice system not only through the perspective of the "Skip Gates" arrest but through the stories of Rodney King, Andrew Meyer, Latasha Harlins, Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell. If these seem like isolated incidents that are few and far between take a minute to google the name "Oscar Grant." Mention of the recent Arizona senate bill 1070 is worthy of a quick read in itself as it clearly offers a perspective to reveal an underlying issue within the country's fabric that must be "dealt with."
Whether you agree with Prof. Ogletree or not is not the purpose of the read. If you believe in "justice for all," or if you want to examine what Archbishop Desmond Tutu once called America's "illusion of equality," this book will reveal itself to be captivating, informative and extremely interesting.
Cambridge Kid August 3, 2010
Tony Clark
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Professor Ogletree's The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Race, Class and Crime in America doesn't emotionally indict Sergeant Crowley and The Cambridge Police Department nor does it blindly exonerate Professor Gates. Through police records, personal encounters of others, and historical evidence Professor Ogletree illuminates a litany of truisms that are prevalent in our society; such as, racial profiling, class stratification, and the complex politics of living as a man of color in the greatest country in the world. As a black male and a native of Cambridge, Mass, where discussions of race and racial disparities can make some queasy and to question a Cantabrigian's motives in this case Officer Crowley's is pseudo blasphemy, an issue that Professor Ogletree counters with examples from The Utopian Republic of Cambridge a great place (my home) that is also plagued by the manacles of racial entitlement even in a "post racial" society. Professor Ogeltree brilliantly challenges The City of Cambridge and other municipalities to examine race at both the micro and macro levels.
 Accessible, informative book July 19, 2010
SJ (Brooklyn, New York)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
NOTE: I learned of this book from Charles Ogletree's interview on Democracy Now, an independent daily news and media program. You can see or listen to his interview by visit the following webpage:[...]
REVIEW: The Presumption of Guilt invites readers to recognize, or perhaps be reminded of, the significant effects that race, class, and perceptions of these two identities have on the administration of America's criminal justice system. Author and Professor Charles Ogletree does not intend for his readers to necessarily agree with his perspectives on racial profiling and related conduct in America; he has no expectation for readers to side with his view on the arrest of Professor Gates. His book's goal, as he describes it, is to encourage the understanding of America's persistent social problems in matters concerning race, class, and justice. The author's description and assessment of the arrest of Professor Gates is only the foundation upon which he hopes readers can build their own understanding. He shares the assessments made by other commentators on the arrest, and devotes his examination to the reactions towards the most notable observer, President Barack Obama.
With almost year having passed between the arrest of Professor Gates and this book's publication, Ogletree apparently compiled many other racial profiling/harassment incidents, involving other accomplished black men. These additional encounters highlight the collision of perception and race in our nation's criminal justice system and other areas of livelihood (e.g., education, employment, commerce). When reading these incidents involving police stops on the highway or in a public place, to facing fearful or spiteful reaction by fellow civilians, the title Presumption of Guilt becomes the all the more appropriate for a work that features such upsetting incidents.
Professor Ogletree's book is meant for a wide audience of Americans. Anyone interested in America's contemporary struggle with race and class matters will find this book insightful. The book has a broad, perhaps not entirely radical goal (to get readers thinking about race, class, and their impact within America). I imagine, however, Professor Ogletree did not attempt for his book (even one from a professor) to be the definitive and exhaustive resource on the topics he examined. At best (as in my case while reading the book in public), he sparks our discussion on these issues from informed positions that welcome debate, struggle, and ideas towards progress with our nation's race and class matters.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
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