Denver
White mother wants to fly with her black daughter – the airline implies human trafficking
A Southwest Airlines plane at Denver Airport
© David Zalubowski / Picture Alliance
The white woman Mary MacCarthy was traveling with her black daughter – airline employees apparently thought it was a kidnapping. The police were waiting for mother and daughter at the airport.
Mary MacCarthy has a 10-year-old daughter, even if one would not immediately suspect it at first glance – because the single mother is white, her daughter Moira is black because her father is also black. This caused confusion on a flight from San Jose, California to Denver, Colorado.
Because of a bereavement in the family, MacCarthy flew to California with her daughter, she told the Denver Post. When the two returned to Denver, a Southwest Airlines employee and two police officers were waiting for them upon arrival. They suspected her of human trafficking and apparently assumed that, as a white woman, she had kidnapped the black child. An employee of the airline had called the police.
Mother accuses the airline of racial profiling
Mary MacCarthy reported on the incident on her Twitter account and then spoke to several media outlets about it. She was “immediately clear” what it was about, she told the Denver Post: “This is exactly the situation that families with different skin colors experience all the time.” Mother and daughter were interviewed separately. The girl cried throughout the questioning by the police, MacCarthy told CNN: “She was terrified. She started sobbing and was not comforted.”
MacCarthy was able to clear up the situation quickly and return home with her daughter. The suspicion had been dispelled, said the Denver police. Still, Mary MacCarthy does not want to leave the matter alone. “An incident like this can leave a lifelong mark on a child,” said the mother. The 42-year-old accuses the airline of “racial profiling” and reserves the right to take legal action. She has not yet received a proper apology, just two automated responses, she told CNN. As Southwest Airlines announced to the broadcaster, the process will still be checked internally.
Sources: “Denver Post” / CNN / “People” / Mary MacCarthy on Twitter