Reverend Manikka Bowman, vice-chair of the Cambridge, Massachusetts School Committee, and her partner Jeff Myers, a commercial real estate director, attended Connors Farm with their two children on Labor Day, a national holiday in the US.
The couple said they spent over $100 on admission fees, apple picking, food and drinks, reports AP. But, they said, they were confronted by farm staff over six apples that did not fit inside a prepaid apple-picking bag.
They added that the six items of fruit in question were in their child’s stroller, and that they were planning to pay for them at the farm store, where they also planned to buy more food.
However, they were stopped before they could get to the store by a security guard, who asked to search Reverend Bowman’s purse. The couple protested, asking for the contact information of the farm’s owner.
In response, according to the couple, the farm’s manager called the police, who in turn accused the couple of “playing the race card.”
In a blog post responding to the incident, the couple asked, “Why was this happening? We looked at each other, wondering. What made them suspect us of stealing? Had our skin color influenced their thinking?”.
They added, “By jumping straight to an assumption of theft, Connors Farm created a scene, harassing us and causing our 7-year-old to burst into tears, anguish that lasted well into the evening. All for a handful of apples picked with enthusiasm by the family who’d paid to be there.”
In a post on Facebook, Connors Farm publicly apologized to the family, emphasising that staff will undertake diversity, equity and inclusion training. “Everybody is welcome on our farm”, the business insisted.
