A white man called the cops on a black woman campaigning for a seat in the Wisconsin state legislature in a largely white, liberal neighborhood, claiming he suspected she was involved in a drug deal.
Dane County Supervisor Shelia Stubbs was knocking on doors on Aug. 7 in what she told the Capital Times was a “predominately white community,” when a Madison police officer arrived at the scene.
Stubbs told CNN she was speaking to a voter when she noticed the police car arrive. After excusing herself to speak to the officer, she was shocked to learn that someone reported her.
“I’m like, ‘a drug dealer! Are you serious, they think I’m a drug dealer? No!” was her initial reaction, Stubbs told the network.
Stubbs’ 71-year-old mother, Linda Hoskins, and 8-year-old daughter were in the politician’s car parked at the scene, waiting for her.
The police officer did not believe at first Stubbs’ or her mother’s claims that they were campaigning, despite Stubbs showing the cop her name tag and campaign fliers. Only when Stubbs showed the policewoman a list of the addresses she had visited was the officer convinced and apologetic.
“I felt humiliated. I felt outraged. I felt angry. I felt embarrassed,” Stubbs told CBS News.
According to the police report, Stubbs shared her cellphone number with the officer at the end of their conversation, offering to help work with the cops on bettering race relations in nearby communities.
Stubbs, who eight days later
for the State Assembly seat in Wisconsin’s 77th District, told the Capital Times she hopes the lesson here is that despite Madison’s progressive constituency, the city still has a long way to go in addressing racism. Stubbs
, meaning she’ll become the first African-American to represent Madison in the assembly.
Following the incident, Stubbs told her daughter that she was running for public office because of experiences like this.
Stubbs is the second black female politician to have the police called on her while campaigning in recent months. Oregon State Rep. Janelle Bynum was stopped by an officer while canvassing in her district. The deputy in Bynum’s case said somebody called 911 to say she appeared to be lingering around homes and feared Bynum was casing the neighborhood.
In her CBS News interview, Stubbs said she has not had the opportunity to speak to the anonymous man who called the cops — but if she could ask him anything, it would be: Why did you think I didn’t belong in your neighborhood?
If he’s listening, though, she wants him to know, “I am now your representative.”
