By Parker Riley, newsone.com
The week of Independence Day had white folks with 911 on speed dial. A Black family eating at a Subway in Georgia got a visit from police and a Black Oregon state representative had a check-in from the cops for canvassing — in the neighborhood she represents.
On July 3, Rep. Janelle Bynum, 43, was campaigning in Clackamas, Oregon. She is a Democrat who is running for a second term this fall in the state House of Representatives. After canvassing for two hours, a police car pulled up and asked what she was doing. Bynum explained she was canvassing. OregonLive.com reported, “The deputy said someone called and reported Bynum appearing to spend a long time at houses in the area and appearing to be casing the neighborhood while on her phone.” Yep, “casing” the neighborhood, as if she was Catwoman on a jewel thief mission.
Bynum told OregonLive.com, “It was just bizarre. It boils down to people not knowing their neighbors and people having a sense of fear in their neighborhoods, which is kind of my job to help eradicate. But at the end of the day, it’s important for people to feel like they can talk to each other to help minimize misunderstandings.” Reportedly, the deputy would not reveal the caller’s race, but we can all take an accurate guess. Thankfully, the officer did not overreact, see their photo below:
Read more at https://newsone.com/3815465/subway-janelle-bynum-oregon-police-911/
