I have many memories, but I write one now because I am going to recount this memory  in a training session that I am hosting.

In May 2012, I went to the Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal in Montreal  with my child for a  First Communion class activity. We toured the Oratory with the group of about 20 kids and parents.  At the end of the tour, we went to the gift shop.  We browsed the store and then purchased two postcards for my aunts in Grenada. As we were about to leave the premises a security guard approached me and asked to see my bag.  I was livid. The store was filled with other people and no one else was asked to have their bags searched.  I reacted by raising my voice.  I asked  him why he had picked the two of us when the gift shop was filled with other people. Of course,  I knew the answer, my child and I were the only two people of colour in the gift shop.  The heated argument lasted for about two minutes and was unresolved when I walked away. Outside the store, two other parents came to say they were sorry about what happened.  I tried to be gracious.The rest of my  day was spoilt. During the afternoon session, a lady who worked at the Oratory came to see me. She asked me to tell her what happened, I did. She apologized  and said that she would look into the issue to make sure that something similar did not happen in the future.  My child was 8 yeas old.  Our participation  in this religious activity with a group could not protect us.

When I recounted this story to my  multicultural education class,  many students felt the actions of the security guard  were acceptable. Why would they think that the security guard’s actions were ok?