As Daily Kos has covered, Black Americans have the police called on them with an entirely disturbing regularity. We’ve covered an instance of a Black man having the cops called on him while simply sitting in a frozen yogurt shop. We saw an adult threaten to call the police on a young Black girl selling bottles of water. In one of the higher profile cases, we covered the viral video of a white woman calling the police on a Black birdwatcher in Central Park. Calling the police on people of color is such a systemic issue, in fact, that San Francisco is moving to take action against discriminatory 911 calls with the aptly named CAREN Act.
The latest example? Michigan State Sen. Marshall Bullock, chair of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, told the Advance that someone called the police on him while he was campaigning with 21-year-old Chokwe Pitchford—the Democrat who is hoping to unseat Republican state Rep. Pauline Wendzel—as well as candidate for the Berrien County Commission Rayonte Bell. You might remember that Daily Kos Elections actually endorsed Pitchford for the Michigan House back in September.
Bullock told the outlet, “As soon as I saw the squad car pulling up, I said, ‘This is about to be some bulls—,’.” Why were the police called? According to Bullock, the police department told him they received a call from a resident about three Black men looking into windows when they walked up to houses. Bullock denied that allegation, saying that while they were campaigning, canvassers were instructed to ring doorbells and then step back from the door. It’s worth noting they were canvassing in St. Joseph, a mostly white, affluent community in West Michigan.
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The St. Joseph Public Safety Department officers who arrived, including one white officer and one Black officer, were, thankfully, reportedly friendly and professional. Still, Bullock stressed, “I know that I was racially profiled.”
Bullock said most people they spoke to in that community were “cool” and described seeing both Democrat and Republican lawn signs. But the call to the police can’t be ignored. He said, “But somebody called the police on the Black boys.”
“I think the person who called the police officers should really think,” Pitchford told local outlet WSBT. “Check your biases before you go into a situation.”
Bullock tweeted about the incident as well.
As did Pitchford.
Here’s a heartwarming piece of sweet news where Bullock reads a book for elementary students.
Here is a great conversation between Bullock and Authority Health President and CEO Loretta V. Bush on racism as a public health crisis.
You can check out a recent video from Pitchford on the cost of medications and COVID-19 below.
Want to show Pitchford some support? You can donate to help Pitchford and other Democrats turn the Michigan House blue today.
