The story of a White neighbor who called the police on a Black 9-year-old girl for collecting flies sparked outrage in a local New Jersey community and made national headlines in November of last year, but things have turned around for the young girl after Yale University honored her work in collecting the little lanternflies.
Affectionately known as “Bobbi Wonder,” she and her family visited the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut last week where the school honored her for helping to eradicate the invasive flies in her Caldwell, New Jersey neighborhood.
In a ceremony, her collection of the spotted lanternflies was formally accepted into Yale’s Peabody Museum, stored in the museum’s database and will “forever [be] associated with Bobbi’s name as the donor scientist,” according to the school’s website.
“Yale doesn’t normally do anything like this … this is something unique to Bobbi,” said Yale School of Public Health Assistant Professor Ijeoma Opara, who organized the event. “We wanted to show her bravery and how inspiring she is, and we just want to make sure she continues to feel honored and loved by the Yale community.”
Opara initially invited Bobbi to visit Yale last November just weeks after the incident occurred in October, when Bobbi’s mother, Monique Joseph, attended a city council meeting and said that her daughter was outside playing and searching for insects when a neighbor Gordon Lawshe called the police.
“There’s a little Black woman, walking, spraying stuff on the sidewalks and trees on Elizabeth and Florence. I don’t know what the hell she’s doing, scares me though,” Lawshe told police in a recorded call obtained by The Daily Beast. He added that she’s a “real small woman.”
But the “really small woman” was a 9-year-old who sprays insecticides on the lanternflies to prevent them from killing trees. Lanternflies are known to eat away at trees and damage their exterior by constantly feeding on them. The girl’s efforts in protecting the trees landed her an article in a local newspaper called The Progress.
News of the incident would make national headlines and was picked up from outlets including CNN and Good Morning America, sparking national debates about racial profiling. After seeing the reports, Opara contacted the Wilson family to meet other Black female scientists.
“Dr. Opara, you have been a blessing. You are part of our testimonial and what it means to have a community of amazing, beautiful, Black, intelligent scientists and doctors, and more important than that is your heart and your passion for the work that you do…” Bobbi’s mother said at the event. “You helped us change the trajectory of that day.”
“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,” Joseph said at the time of the incident.
She added the neighbor has not responded to her request to meet, but the neighbor’s attorney said that his client was not engaging in racial profiling.
The mother’s claim that her daughter now faces trauma and fears the police is “absurd,” adding that the woman’s concern“makes real problems not be taken seriously,” said the neighbor’s attorney, Greg Mascera.
Caldwell Mayor John Kelley issued an apology about the situation. “I’m glad you shared this with us, with the public,” he told her at the council meeting. “After reflecting on the story and learning more from the police report, it is clear that a line was crossed. My heart goes out to Monique and her two girls.”
