On August 3 Mary MacCarthy filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Colorado against Southwest Airlines over an incident that took place two years earlier.
In October 2021 MacCarthy and her 10-year-old child found themselves filled with apprehension as they contemplated their upcoming journey from California to Colorado. Their destination was a funeral for MacCarthy’s brother, a solemn occasion that was already casting a shadow over their day. Unfortunately, their experience took an even darker turn after they boarded a Southwest Airlines flight.
As recounted in the federal lawsuit, a Southwest flight attendant raised concerns with the Denver Police Department, suggesting that MacCarthy might be involved in child trafficking. The alleged rationale provided by the employee was the perceived discrepancy in skin color between MacCarthy and her daughter.
Curiously, the flight attendant did not engage in any dialogue with MacCarthy or her daughter throughout the flight, as indicated by the legal complaint.
Upon their arrival at Denver International Airport, the situation escalated dramatically. MacCarthy, who is of white ethnicity, found herself subjected to questioning by two armed police officers. Meanwhile, her daughter, who is Black, was overcome with fear and bewilderment, shedding tears. The ordeal concluded after MacCarthy presented her identification card and provided an explanation for their travel.
In response to the traumatic incident, MacCarthy and her daughter initiated legal action against Southwest in the District Court of Colorado. The lawsuit asserts that the airline company engaged in racial discrimination against their mixed-race family, resulting in a distressing occurrence that continues to impact the daughter’s well-being even two years later.
The lawsuit contends that “Southwest Airlines’ blatant display of racism inflicted severe emotional distress upon Ms. MacCarthy and her daughter.”
The legal complaint also highlights a pattern of alleged racial profiling targeting mixed-race families at Southwest. In a similar incident from January 2021, flight attendants removed Luca Guerreri, a Caucasian man accompanied by his Black daughter, from a Southwest flight on suspicion of human trafficking. Guerreri subsequently lodged a complaint with the airline, according to the lawsuit.
