When 9-year-old Bobbi Wilson decided to spend hours of her summer eliminating the invasive flies plaguing her northern New Jersey neighborhood, she didn’t expect much attention. I just wanted to help.
He took to the streets of Caldwell with a container of a mixture of dish soap and water, a bug-killing recipe he found on TikTok and improved with the addition of apple cider vinegar. She was determined to kill as many insects as she could…
But about three months after it began, her extermination campaign brought her to the police. What happened was that a neighbor complained that a “the little black woman was spraying things on the sidewalks and trees” a few houses from the girl’s home, a call made Oct. 22, according to a recording obtained by CNN.
Although no further action was taken, Bobbi and her mother were questioned by police in an episode that sheds light on the wider dialogue on racial profiling and the treatment of black children across the country, a lesson Bobbi’s mother you don’t want it to go unnoticed.
“I wanted it to be a teachable moment,” said her mother, Monique Joseph, 50, a real estate agent. “This same call could have happened in another state with another police officer, and I would be angry.”
The incident ended up attracting the attention of people and institutions, including Yale University, which held a ceremony on January 20 in which he acknowledged Bobbi’s efforts to eradicate the lanterns. His insects will become part of the Peabody Museum collection.
About 30 of the flies she caught, known as spotted lanterns, will remain there, named after Bobbi.
In an interview, Bobbi said she was thrilled to be recognized by Yale and that it was “great to be able to help other scientists with research.”
He added that he hoped his story would help other young aspiring scientists “not be afraid to chase after their dreams and not be afraid to try something just because they’re little.” “We too can make a difference,” she said.
Before it all happened, Bobbi just wanted to do something good for her community.
Bobbi Wilson’s initiative
It was there last summer an avalanche of spotted flies, an invasive insect that can damage trees and ruin crops. Originally from parts of Asia and arriving in the United States in 2011, this insect infestation has been documented in several states, with swarms concentrated in the northeast, including New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Last year, scientists and state officials encouraged people to kill the bugs when and where they found them, and also advised people to destroy their eggs.
In August, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture launched the campaign Trample it (Trample them and remove them) for their residents and their children to do just that.
Bobbi had a mission: He sprayed the trees and plants in his neighborhood, from the hottest summer months to the first few weeks of fourth grade. Her solution immobilized the insects so that she could collect them in a jar or, with the help of her mother and sister, step on them.
Ms. Joseph said her daughter felt she was serving her community in her efforts to kill lantern flies; she even applied for special permission to fumigate the trees herself.
In a handwritten note, he promised his mother that he would stay close to home, I would keep my phone on and not talk to strangers. She felt comfortable encouraging her neighbors to get rid of the bugs and shared her solution with them.
“It gave him strength because now he was doing something he wanted to do,” Joseph says. “He realized he was helping.”
One call and hidden racism
But a neighbor called the police to report Bobbi as she sprayed the trees around her house. The neighbor gave police the location of Bobbi and said he was wearing a hood, according to a recording of the call.
“I don’t know what the hell he’s doing,” the caller said. “even if it scares me“.
Ijeoma Opara, an associate professor of public health at Yale who also directs the Laboratory on Substance Abuse and Sexual Health, said he found Bobbi’s story particularly compelling.
It closely matched her research interests: the impact of racism on black girls and other children of color. She represented a phenomenon that she and other researchers have called the adultification of black girls, who are said to have more likely to be seen as more criminal and less innocent than white children.
“Often our society doesn’t see Black children as children,” says Dr. Opara. “We see them much older than they are. They end up protecting less; they end up being judged more. They end up without being forgiven for their mistakes.”
Dr. Opara asked her Twitter followers to help her find Bobbi in November after seeing a video of her mother and older sister Hayden, 13, talking about Bobbi’s experience at a city council meeting.
He offered to give the family a campus tour so they could visit the Yale labs and… meet other black female scientistsa small group on campus whose members now call themselves Bobbi’s “Yale aunts”.
In addition to the Yale honor, Bobbi has been recognized by Princeton, the American Museum of Natural History, and numerous other universities and state and local officials for her solution to the lantern fly.
In July, both Wilson sisters will participate in a summer research program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. with scholarships in science, technologyengineering and mathematics for young scientists.
Ms Joseph said support for Bobbi and her family came from “everywhere”. Her main concern, she said, it was his daughter’s mental health. After the incident, Ms. Joseph said her goal was to turn a traumatic day for her daughter into a positive experience.
Dr. Opara agreed.
“Those flies that caused someone to report it to the police are now at Yale,” she said. “I am in awe of the beauty of these events.”
c.2023 The New York Times Society
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.