As an African-American oil delivery driver in Biddeford, I mistakenly knocked at the door of a wrong address. The woman who answered the door abruptly informed me that they had no delivery scheduled and closed the door in my face.

I moved three doors down to the correct address. As I was fueling that home, I was surprised to be confronted by a police officer who said he was pretty sure that I “knew why he was there.”

Confused by his presence, I mistakenly assumed that it was because my truck was facing the wrong way on the street. But, no, that was fine, as my hazard lights were on and the officer knew that deliveries did not take long.

The police had been called by the person whose door I had knocked on in error. I explained the situation and he left after securing my information. The officer had responded quickly (within a couple of minutes), so I can only imagine what the homeowner had said to them.

As a proud combat veteran of the United States Army, I was insulted to be seen as some sort of a threat to a homeowner in Biddeford simply because my skin is not on her list of approved colors.

If you think racism is dead in America, please take off your blinders. Otherwise, please inform me if there has been a recent string of robberies committed by a man of color in a large oil truck.

Anthony Pointer

Biddeford