Gates says in Sunday's edition of The New York Times Magazine that he donated the handcuffs to the new National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Gates' arrest last July by police investigating a report of a possible break-in at his home near Harvard University sparked a national debate over racial profiling.
The charge against Gates was dropped, and the Harvard scholar later reconciled with the police sergeant who arrested him outside his Cambridge home.
Gates says he met with Sgt. James Crowley several months ago at a cafe, where the officer gave him the handcuffs.
