Amid claims of racism, authorities in Cambridge, Mass., have abandoned charges of disorderly conduct against Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, the world-renowned African-American scholar arrested last week after trying to gain entry into his own home. Initially, police in the Boston suburb claimed that Gates, 58, who had just returned from a trip to China, displayed “loud and tumultuous behavior” against officers who showed up at his home after a neighbor called police to report that an intruder was trying to break into a home. Gates said he immediately told officers that he was merely having a hard time opening his door. On Tuesday, Cambridge Police Department issued a statement saying, “The City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Police Department, and Professor Gates acknowledge that the incident of July 16, 2009 was regrettable and unfortunate. This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of Professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department,” the statement said, adding that the charges were dropped. But the statement will do little to draw back the embarrassment experienced by Gates, and the incident serves as a reminder that even a preeminent Black scholar can be manhandled based on race. “I’m outraged that this could happen to me in my own home but I’m outraged that it could happen to any individual,” Gates said in an interview with The Washington Post. He called the episode “deeply painful and traumatic,” saying he would use it as the basis for a documentary on “racial profiling.”

Missouri Blacks Racially Profiled

Blacks in Missouri are far more likely than anybody else in the state to be pulled over by police, even though they are far less likely to be caught with contraband after being stopped, a new study by the State Attorney General’s Office reveals. In fact, they are 67 percent more apt to stopped than White or Hispanic drivers, according to the report, released Monday. Read the rest.

Obama Says Israel Needs Some Tough Love

In  comments that are not likely to endear President Obama with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said that the United States must be honest and tell its “stalwart ally” the truth – that it must accept a Palestinian state. “Part of being a good friend is being honest,” Obama told National Public Radio in an interview. “And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests. And that’s part of a new dialogue that I’d like to see encouraged in the region.” Read more.

You might not be a criminal, but if your Black or Latino that minor detail most likely won’t keep you from getting stopped by the NYPD. In fact, says the Center for Constitutional Rights, about 80 percent of the record half-million citizens who get stopped by New York City officers are either Black or Latino. And the vast majority of those stopped between 2005 and 2008 weren’t even charged with a crime, the center says in a new report. “The New York City Police Department continues to prey on African-American and Latino communities in New York City,” Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said. After tallying half of the data from 2008, the center projects that at its current pace, 543,982 people will be stopped over the entire year at this pace. “The problem actually is getting worse,” CCR lawyer Darius Charney said. But Commissioner Paul Browne, of the NYPD, said the number of Blacks and Latinos pulled over parallels the percentage offered by victims and witnesses of crime.

Attorneys for a 23-year-old east Texas man, whom police shot in his own driveway after mistaking his SUV for a stolen car, say he was a victim of racial profiling. Robert Tolan, and his cousin, Anthony Cooper, were returning from a fast-food shop when police officers pulled up to Tolan’s home and ordered both men to the ground. Witnesses say that the two young men complied immediately and were lying on the sidewalk near his parents’ front door when Tolan looked up and protested the way the officers were treating his mother. She had come outside to see what all the commotion was about, United Press International reports. That’s when Bellaire Police Sgt. Jeff Cotton shot him, UPI reports. Police also fired at least two other shots, but they missed, witnesses said. Tolan, a former Bellaire High School baseball star and the son of former major league player Bobby Tolan, was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital. Officials said he is expected to recover fully, UPI reports. “We want the district attorney to charge this officer,” said Geoffrey Berg. “There can’t be an explanation that can justify what the police did to this kid.” David Berg, another family attorney, said race prompted the shooting. Tolan is Black, and Cotton is White. “There’s no doubt in my mind that if these had been two White kids, they never would have been shot,” Berg said. Cotton, who has been on the force for 10 years, is on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Bellaire Assistant City Manager Diane K. White told UPI. Bobby Tolan said his son was pursuing a professional baseball career and has never had any trouble with Bellaire Police.