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US President Barack Obama sat down for beers with a Harvard professor and a police officer at the White House on July 30. They were not talking about big problems, 1 making small talk.
A few weeks ago, the white police officer, James Crowley, arrested the black professor, Henry Louis Gates.
On July 16, police went to Gates’ home   2  a neighbor called the police to say that she had seen two men trying to force open the front door. Gates was coming home from a trip and found his door 3 (stick) , so he and his taxi driver tried to force it open.
Crowley arrived and asked Gates to prove he was the   4 (own) of the home. But Gates flew into a rage and accused Crowley 5 being racist. Crowley arrested Gates. A hot debate was stirred up. Obama suggested holding a "beer summit" in the hope that the men 6 work out their problem by talking.
Racism has been 7  major problem in US history. Historically, the country has been dominated by whites. Blacks, American Indians, and some other peoples were discriminated.
Over the years, much progress has been made in fighting racism. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed. It made discrimination based on race and color illegal. In 1965, President Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act, making   8 easier for blacks to vote.
In 2008, Obama became US’ first black president. This was a big step forward. However, the Gates incident suggests that US still   9 (have) a long way to go        10 it has fixed its racial problems.