Nine-year-old Bobbi Wilson from Caldwell, New Jersey was very curious about bugs, especially lanternflies. 

The lanternfly is an invasive insect which is common in her neighborhood. Lanternflies, according to experts, can harm and kill trees they cling onto. 

On the morning of October 22, Bobbi was able to make a homemade spray, which she had seen on TikTok, and decided to try it out on the bugs. The concoction was a solution of dish soap and apple cider vinegar.

According to her mother, Monique Joseph, her daughter was minding her own business, when their neighbor, Gordon Lawshe, who is a former councilman of the City of New Jersey, decided to call the authorities to report what the girl was doing. 

When the incident was discussed in a town board meeting, Ms. Joseph reported that Lawshe called the police and said that “a black little woman was spraying stuff around the neighborhood” and that he was “fearing for his safety.” He also said that the woman was wearing a “black hoodie.” Joseph had received a phone call from the police and was heartbroken that her little girl was a subject of such racial profiling around her neighborhood.

Lawshe’s report was considered unusual. If he did not know what Bobbi Wilson was doing, he could have just asked her. Instead, the first thing he did was call the police, presumably because she was wearing a hoodie and because of her skin color. Lawshe and Joseph personally know each other and were considered good neighbors. 

During the board meeting, in which Mayor John Kelley was virtually present, Ms. Joseph continued to remind the community that racial profiling can cause police brutality which has been an issue in the country. Black and brown people, even children, can fall victim in this kind of behavior.

What makes the incident more notable is how young Bobbi Wilson is aware of the rampant news of how black people are in danger with the police. The little girl felt terrified when she realized she was having firsthand experience of this threat. When a police car stopped beside her, she was scared and traumatized.

When Bobbi learned about the danger that the lanternflies are to the trees in her neighborhood, she was determined to save the trees. Now she is afraid to go outside.