White woman calls cops on Black man babysitting

(Defender News Service) – The list of things Black people can do without having the police called on them by white folks continues to grow.

In addition to barbecuing while Black, campaigning while Black, and performing community service while Black, it looks like we can add a new one to the list: babysitting while Black.

Recently, a white woman at a Cobb County, Ga., Walmart called the police after spotting a Black man with two white children. Although the children were not upset, crying, or in danger, the woman confronted the man and asked to speak to the kids because she suspected something was afoul.

The problem? He was a Black man with two white children in his care.

Corey Lewis documented the run-in on Facebook Live, and later told CBS46 the woman called the police after he refused to let her speak to the children after he told her they were okay.

When Lewis and the children left Walmart, and headed to a gas station, the woman followed close behind. In fact, she continued to track Lewis, following him all the way to his house where he was confronted by a Cobb County police officer.

After questioning the children, the officer called their parents, David Parker and Dana Mango. Mango recounted her conversation with the officer to CBS46.

“I said are you saying that because there’s an African-American male driving my two white kids, that he was stopped and pulled over and questioned and he said I’m sorry ma’am that’s exactly what I’m saying,” she said.

Parker and Mango told the news station they don’t believe the unidentified woman was simply looking out for their children, “because [the kids] never showed any signs of being in danger.”

Lewis runs a mentoring program called Inspired By Lewis, which the two children attend.

This article originally published in the October 15, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.