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WEKU
Juliana Kim

Southwest employee accused white mom of trafficking her Black daughter, lawsuit says

Southwest Airlines planes taxi at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in July 2019. Southwest is facing a discrimination suit after an employee allegedly reported a passenger to police on suspicion of child trafficking. (Ross D. Franklin/AP)

Mary MacCarthy and her 10-year-old were already dreading the trip from California to Colorado; they were headed to a funeral for MacCarthy's brother. But their day got even worse after flying Southwest Airlines.

After the two boarded the plane to Denver in October 2021, according to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, a Southwest flight attendant alerted the Denver Police Department that MacCarthy may be a child trafficker. The employee's alleged explanation was that the skin color of MacCarthy and her daughter did not match.

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