Gates donates handcuffs from arrest to Smithsonian

(NECN) - The handcuffs used to arrest Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates are now the property of the Smithsonian Institution.

Gates told The New York Times that he donated the handcuffs after they were given to him by Sgt. James Crowley during a sit-down the two had at a Cambridge pub several months ago.

Sgt. Crowley arrested Gates at his home last year, sparking headlines and a national debate about race.  President Barack Obama, after initially criticizes Sgt. Crowley, asked the two to meet with him at the White House in what became known as the beer summit.

The handcuffs are in the possession of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture.