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A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 9 February 2019

Cindy McCain apology shows challenge for mixed-race families

By JONATHAN J. COOPER nized globally as an ad-
Associated Press vocate for ending human
PHOENIX (AP) — Cindy Mc- trafficking, illustrates the
Cain has apologized after challenge of being vigilant
she claimed she stopped without triggering concerns
a case of human traffick- about racial bias.
ing at the Phoenix airport “There’s a huge danger
when she reported a tod- in trusting your gut when
dler with a woman of a dif- it comes to race and all
ferent ethnicity and “some- kinds of identity dimen-
thing didn’t click.” Police sions,” said Andrew Grant-
said they investigated but Thomas, who co-founded
there was no evidence of an organization called Em-
a crime. brace Race along with his
The incident draws atten- wife. “We make these split-
tion to the suspicion that second judgments. And
parents, relatives, nan- often those split-second
nies and others face when judgments ... are driven by
they travel with children bias.”
who don’t look like them. It reminded Grant-Thomas,
That it was McCain, who who is African American, of
adopted a daughter from the intimidating stares he
Bangladesh and is recog- would get while babysitting In this Nov. 17, 2018 file photo, Cindy McCain pauses while presenting the inaugural John McCain
Prize for Leadership in Public Service to the People of the island of Lesbos, Greece at the Halifax
International Security Forum in Halifax, Canada.
Associated Press
his godson, who appears child to get off an air- trafficking is a focus for the
white. plane.” Phoenix Police Sgt. McCain Institute for Inter-
When someone’s suspect- Armando Carbajal con- national Leadership at Ari-
ed of a crime while simply firmed McCain requested a zona State University.
living their life, “there’s a welfare check on a child at “Her hyper sensitivity to
cost,” and the person has the airport on Jan. 30, but looking for trafficking in this
probably endured suspi- said “officers determined instance was not correct,”
cion and questions many there was no evidence of but everyone has a respon-
times before, Grant-Thom- criminal conduct or child sibility to be aware of the
as said. endangerment.” issue and it shouldn’t dis-
McCain has not said if oth- McCain was discussing traf- courage anyone from re-
er factors besides ethnicity ficking at the Super Bowl porting potential problems,
led her to suspect wrong- in Atlanta, which she said Luke Knittig, a spokesman
doing. attracts sophisticated traf- for the McCain Institute,
“I came in from a trip I’d fickers who sell women and said in an email.
been on,” McCain said on children for sex. She urged The “if you see something,
Phoenix radio station KTAR. people to speak up if they say something” call popu-
“I spotted — it looked odd see something odd. larized after the 9/11 at-
— it was a woman of a dif- “I commend the police of- tacks is a reminder not to
ferent ethnicity than the ficers for their diligence,” be a bystander and as-
child, this little toddler she she wrote. “I apologize if sume someone else will
had. Something didn’t click anything else I have said act. But it’s important to
with me. I tell people ‘trust on this matter distracts from “talk to your gut before you
your gut.’ I went over to ‘if you see something, say talk to someone else,” ask-
the police and I told them something.’ “ ing whether the suspicion is
what I thought, and they McCain is an outspoken based on behavior or ap-
went over and questioned advocate for preventing pearance, said Alexis Mc-
her, and by God she was human trafficking. She’s Gill Johnson, co-founder
trafficking that kid.” co-chair of the Arizona Hu- and executive director of
She went on to say the man Trafficking Council, the Perception Institute,
woman “was waiting for which recommends ways which researches bias and
the guy who bought the to end exploitation, and trains people to avoid it.q