Food Truck Owner Says She Was Harassed By White Residents: Report

RACINE, WI — The owner of a local food truck, who identifies as black, says that she was discriminated against by area residents, who were white, on the Fourth of July.

Yogi Edwards is self-employed as the owner and operator of Yogi's Pud'n, a homemade business that sells artisan pudding. She has a food truck that requires a power generator to keep her inventory cold - especially in hot weather.

Edwards took to social media, telling her story about the Fourth of July when she was approached multiple times for her permits and licenses after she parked near Racine's lakefront in advance of the Fourth of July fireworks display.

"All over the internet you see white people calling the police on black people for barbecuing, swimming in pools, temporarily parking, and little kids selling water, etc.," she wrote. "Well, yesterday it happened to me selling Pud’n."

According to Edwards, she parked her food truck near the intersection of English St. and Michigan Blvd. on Racine's north side at about 4:30 p.m. and turned on her power generator.

Edwards said she was first confronted by a white man who asked her if she had a permit to do business, and when she said yes, the man said he was calling the police anyway. Edwards said the man was the head of the local neighborhood watch and was not happy about the noise of the power generator - especially neighbors who were hosting an outdoor party.

According to a Racine Police Department report, the person who called police said: "he doesn't feel she's running a clean operation with whatever she's selling."

According to Edwards, she was approached first by a black police officer who asked to see her permits. An hour later, she said, a white police officer asked if she had a permit. Edwards said each time, the officers left satisfied that she was doing business legally.

Later in the evening, Edwards said that a white woman wrote down her license plate ID and took photos of her food truck, and demanded to see her permits. Edwards said the woman threatened to call her alderman to make a formal complaint to the city's license and welfare committee.

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