A mum of two from Sydney has spoken of her upset, after being excluded from a playgroup due to the colour of her skin.
Tara Coverdale was told to leave the playgroup in the city suburb of Alexandria, after the establishment said it was for ‘multicultural families’ only, The Daily Telegraph report.
The Australian mother had been invited to bring her four year old and eight month old children along to the community centre by her Russian friend, but was shocked when she was quizzed about her background on arrival.
According to Ms Coverdale, after explaining to one of the centre’s staff that she was a fourth-generation Australian, the staff member replied: “I’m sorry, you can’t come here. It’s for multicultural families and people who speak languages other than English at home.”
“I said ‘I’m not leaving’,” Ms Coverdale explains.
“My kids were playing. My older son was having such a good time with his buddy, and I thought, ‘Why should I leave?’”
“We’re in a pretty progressive area,” Tara said. “It’s very accepting of all people. But I feel like I’m excluded.”
According to Tara, she had the altercation with the manager of the playgroup, Jo Fletcher.
Fletcher has not responded to calls and text messages from the Telegraph this week.
