NJ Mother Calls Out Republican For Calling Police On 9YO Daughter

A New Jersey mother had time to call out a local republican who called the cops on her 9-year-old Black daughter.

The mother gave a heartfelt speech during a local board meeting last week after her daughter was racially profiled by a former council member. She claims the member was freaked out all because she was killing invasive bugs that are apparently disastrous to American ecosystems.

The family demands that the town of Caldwell have a conversation about racial equity in an effort for other children of color to feel safe when they step outside their homes, MSN reported.

“I am not here to label anyone, only to share my point of view as a Black woman, a Black mother, and a Black resident in this town,” Monique Joseph said as she stepped up to the dais during the public comments portion of a Caldwell Borough Council meeting on Nov. 1. “To bring awareness on racism and implicit bias that we experienced on the very street that we live on.”

Joseph went into detail on the day Gordon Lawshe called the police on her daughter Bobbi Wilson while she was outside trying to kill spotted lanternflies.

An insect known to be a danger to trees and other plants—that even scientists recommend a myriad of ways for the public to kill them.

Joseph obtained the recording of Lawshe’s October 22 911 call to the Caldwell Police Department.

“‘There’s a little Black woman walking, spraying stuff on the sidewalks and trees. I don’t know what the hell she’s doing; it scares me though,’” Lawshe is heard telling police.

“And [he] included that she’s wearing a hoodie,” she told the board meeting. “My 9-year-old daughter Bobbi had a hoodie on her person but did not have this hoodie on her head. … It is sickening and scary to hear my neighbor use triggering words that have resulted in the death of too many Black and brown children and adults at the hands of the police: Black, hoodie, ‘I’m scared.’ Those are triggered words.”

While she called unintentional racism “still racism,” she said the member’s “ability to do something like this was not a mistake. It was intentional, and I’m here to talk about Mr. Lawshe’s intentionality. My neighbor’s words put my daughter in harm’s way. His words and actions were unconscionable, and the impact of the aftermath of this incident will not be kept secret. My 9-year-old daughter was afraid to go outside her front door the next day. She was afraid that her neighbor that she knows has a reason, unknown to her, to call the police on her.”

Lawshe is a former Caldwell councilman and he served as chair of the Caldwell Republican Party at least until 2021.

Joseph says she is not trying to make a political point by calling out Lawshe, but she said she was asking his party, “Do you condone his behavior? I would like to know your point of view. And I want to close by repeating my opening statement: Racism—intentional or not—is racism. That’s the dialogue I would like to have.”

Joseph commended the police’s response o the matter, but she didn’t specify what happened when they arrived at the scene.

“Based on everything that has transpired, I am concerned and outraged,” she said. “I want this to be a teachable moment for our town on racial bias, diversity, equity, and inclusion in how we, together, can ensure that go[ing] forward, little Black and brown children in this town can feel safe in this community.”