White mum accused of trafficking biracial daughter
A US woman has accused Southwest Airlines of racial profiling, claiming she was accused of trafficking her biracial daughter while they travelled together.
Data journalist Mary MacCarthy told CNN that she and her daughter Moira were flying from Los Angeles to Denver after receiving news that Ms MacCarthy’s brother had passed away.
After making a short stop in San Jose, Ms MacCarthy said the pair discovered they weren’t sitting together on their second flight.
“I asked flight attendants if we could be seated together but they told us we’d each have to take a middle seat,” Ms MacCarthy explained.
“So with their permission I asked other passengers if they would kindly move so we could be together, especially as my daughter was grieving, and they did. People are nice.”
But when they arrived in Denver, Ms MacCarthy said they were greeted on the runway by two police officers.
“I got quite a shock; having lost my brother the night before, I thought that someone else in my family had died and that police had been sent to deliver the news,” she wrote in an email to the airline’s media team, which was included in the police report.
We talk an awful lot about a divided nation, but when even conservative media like Newsmax and Fox News come to me with surprise & sympathy about what my daughter was subject to by @SouthwestAir, it makes me feel a little better about... well... human beings in general! https://t.co/jLPUhD89aM
— Mary MacCarthy (@MaryMacCarthy) November 9, 2021
“As for my daughter, she was terribly frightened; she was already experiencing the trauma of her uncle’s death, and she is scared of police due to constant headlines about how police treat black people (she is black). She began to sob and was inconsolable,” her email said.
Ms MacCarthy said the police assured her that nothing was wrong, and that they wanted to question her and her daughter.
“They said they were here because my daughter and I were reported for suspicious behaviour, acting suspiciously before boarding and while boarding,” she said.
“I took out my phone and immediately started recording. I told (the officer) who we were and that my daughter was crying because she had lost a family member.”
According to a report from the Denver police, the pair were cleared of any suspicion.
The report also included a note that officers were responding to a “possible Human Trafficking” reported by a Southwest flight attendant.
However, Ms MacCarthy said she was unaware that she was suspected of human trafficking until two weeks after the incident.
So remember my Tweet about being met by armed officers at @DENAirport getting off a @SouthwestAir flight, traveling w/ my Black daughter? Today @DenverPolice called me on suspicion of human trafficking. Have they never encountered a mixed-race family? How is this ok? #BLM
— Mary MacCarthy (@MaryMacCarthy) November 2, 2021
“I got a call from Denver Police human trafficking unit letting me know they were following up on the incident,” she told CNN.
She has since accused the airline of racial profiling, has retained an attorney and wants the airline to be held “fully accountable”.
“I gave the airline plenty of time to contact me and apologise - over two weeks later, I’ve yet to receive anything more than two brief automated responses. The time for apology is long past,” she said.
In the email to Southwest’s media team, Ms MacCarthy asked for a written apology, an immediate reimbursement of their plane tickets, and “additional compensation to account for the trauma imposed on an innocent family, and especially on a grieving ten-year-old black girl.”
Had to cancel upcoming flights, my girl is not yet ready to travel after the @SouthwestAir trauma. Thanks to @Expedia for your exceptional, kind customer service to accommodate us and provide full credit for price of tix! That's the definition of rockstar #customerservice
— Mary MacCarthy (@MaryMacCarthy) November 9, 2021
Dan Landson, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, told CNN in a statement that the company planned to reach out to Ms MacCarthy and conduct “a review of the situation internally”.
“Our Employees undergo robust training on Human Trafficking. Above all, Southwest Airlines prides itself on providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for the millions of Customers who travel with us each year,” Mr Landson said.
David Lane, Ms MacCarthy’s attorney, echoed her claims that it was a racially charged incident.
“Had this been a white child, there would not have been a raised eyebrow,” he said.
Image: @MaryMacCarthy (Twitter)