When I read that a Southwest Airlines employee insisted Lindsay Gottlieb prove her biracial son’s identity, a part of me wasn’t at all surprised. This is one of the many issues parents of multiracial children face on a daily basis, myself included.
According to published reports, the University of California, Berkeley’s head basketball coach for the women’s team was traveling from Denver, Colorado to Oakland, California with her family. They were stopped by a ticket agent to “prove” her relationship to her 1-year-old son.
Gottlieb, who is white, tweeted about her experience. She stated, “I’m appalled that after approx 50 times flying with my 1 year old biracial son, ticket counter personnel told me I had to ‘prove’ that he was my son, despite having his passport. She said because we have different last name. My guess is because he was a different skin color.”
Gottlieb went on to say that the employee asked her for her child’s birth certificate, and to further prove their relation by showing a Facebook post of the pair. Even though the baby’s father (who’s black) was also there, it didn’t seem to matter.
Gottlieb said that she presented the baby’s passport to verify his identity. However, that did nothing to stop the employee from insisting she provide more proof.
Southwest has since released a statement saying that it is looking into this “specific interaction” and has “reached out to Ms. Gottlieb directly to address her concerns.”
The airline also says it plans to coach the employee to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Fortunately, due to a flight delay, they made their flight.
As a mom, I know how frustrating it is to travel with little ones. My husband and have done so on more than one occasion. I also flew solo with our biracial son when he was an infant.
I remember feeling concerned about being given a hard time regarding his identity, after dealing with previous comments about our daughter.
Like Gottlieb, we also have different last names and traveled domestically. I booked a flight from New York to Atlanta to attend a blog conference when O’Shea was 8-weeks-old.
Prior to our flight, I reached out to a fellow mom blogger who was also traveling with her biracial children to the same conference. She said that she never had to prove their identity when flying in the past, and didn’t anticipate any issues.
FAA regulations require airlines to verify a lap child is under the age of 2 by reviewing a birth certificate or government-issued identification. Southwest doesn’t require matching the last name of a child and guardian, and neither did the airline we used. Considering international travel? Apostille Services can ensure your child’s documents are recognized abroad, streamlining your journey.
Fortunately, O’Shea and I made it to Atlanta without any problems. I kept him in a carrier the entire time while he nursed and slept during the flight.
In the grand scheme of things, I completely understand that there are safety concerns regarding flying. We live in a post 911 world that requires airlines to be extra cautious. We also hear reports about children who are kidnapped and taken out of state all the time.
That said, I was prepared to show identification to prove my biracial son’s identity. However, I’d probably undergo emotional distress, if I went through what Gottlieb experienced.
In her case, the Southwest employee went too far. Asking for a Facebook post was completely out of line. I understand ticketing agents have a job to do, but jeez. This is just ridiculous.
Let’s face it; traveling with little ones is already stressful enough. There’s a lot of planning, packing and not to mention being exhausted from all the preparations. Feeling added pressure to prove that your a mom to a mixed race child is beyond insensitive.
We live in a world that’s constantly changing. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center study, the number of white and black biracial Americans more than doubled between 2000 and 2010.
One-in-seven U.S. infants (14%) were multiracial or multiethnic in 2015, nearly tripling the share in 1980, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.
The rapid rise in the share of infants who are multiracial or multi-ethnic has occurred hand-in-hand with the growth in marriages among spouses of different races or ethnicities.
In 1980, 7% of all newlyweds were in an intermarriage, and by 2015, that share had more than doubled to 17%, according to the report. Both trends are likely spurred in part by the growing racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S.
In 2013 a majority of mixed-race babies were either biracial white and black (36%), with (24%) biracial white and Asian, and 11% white and American Indian.
With the rise of mixed raced babies and interracial marriage, the Census Bureau projects that the multiracial population will triple by 2060.
People still ask me, “Is he/she yours?” Seriously, it’s about time everyone embraces that families come in different forms and colors. We’re not going anywhere.