New York Times’ Charles Blow ‘Fuming’ After Son Stopped At Gunpoint By Yale Police For Being Black
Yale University police stopped and held the son of New York Times columnist Charles Blow at gunpoint Saturday evening as he walked home from the campus library. Blow, who recently released a memoir detailing his personal perspectives on race, gender, and class, was incensed by the incident and expressed his outrage on social media.
Told by officers that he “fit the description” of a suspect, the younger Blow was released when officers realized he was an undergraduate student at the Ivy League college. The third-year biology major was left “shaken.”
In his book Fire Shut Up in My Bones, the best-selling author describes his turbulent childhood in rural, segregated Louisiana. He offers an excruciating, intimate look at his experiences as a black male coming of age in America. A single father of three high-performing children who excel in both academics and athletics, Blow has written extensively about racial profiling and his frustration with the current public debate.
“Fuming,” the columnist and frequent cable news contributor tweeted his dismay to his 121,000 followers on Twitter.
So, my son, a 3rd year chem major at Yale was just accosted – at GUN POINT – by a Yale policeman bc he “fit the description” of a suspect…
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) January 25, 2015
He was let go when they realized he was a college student and not a criminal ( he was leaving the library!) He’s shaken, but I’m fuming!
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) January 25, 2015
Blow referenced the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases, about which he has written extensively in his Times columns. He then added #RacialBattleFatigue to the hash tag lexicon, a reference to the exhausting toll constantly being a suspect in the eyes of law enforcement can take on black men even when their situations don’t end up like Garner’s and Brown’s.
#ICantBreathe #BlackLivesMatter
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) January 25, 2015
This is exactly why I have NO PATIENCE for ppl trying to convince me that the fear these young blk men feel isn’t real #RacialBattleFatigue
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) January 25, 2015
Recent events reinforce what many have been saying for years: have a convo w your children abt what to do when interacting with authorities.
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) January 25, 2015
According to Yahoo News, Yale police said in a statement that they responded Saturday to reports from several students of a possible burglar who “had just entered their rooms under false pretenses, pretending to be looking for someone.” The suspect was described as “a tall, African-American, college-aged student wearing a black jacket and a red and white hat.”
The actual suspect was later located on an adjacent campus and arrested. He will be charged with felony burglaries.
The statement went on to say that an internal review of the incident will be conducted by the Yale Police Department chief’s office.
[Image via C-Span]
