flying while black
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My Life as a Black Who Flies First Class
“What do you call a black man in first class?” I asked the gate agent, as I stood first in the first-class line, so I could be first in first class. I like to be first in first class, so I can sit first and watch all the white people watching me, the black man…
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Born to Fly: This Flight Program Is Giving Black Children Access to the Sky
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 9 percent of all commercial aircraft pilots in the U.S. are women and less than 3 percent are black. Let that sink in. Courtland Savage, a former navy pilot and current commercial airline pilot, hopes to change these disparities. The North Carolina native understands the difficulties that…
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Doctor Told to Cover Up Romper on Flight From Jamaica Says American Airlines’ Apology Isn’t Enough
American Airlines has formally apologized to Dr. Latisha “Tisha” Rowe for pulling her off a flight from Jamaica to Miami because her romper was deemed inappropriate by a flight attendant. But in an interview with Good Morning America on Thursday, Rowe reiterated that the apology wasn’t enough, calling for a full explanation for why the…
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American Airlines Accused of Policing Black Passenger's Curves After Deeming Her Romper 'Inappropriate'
A Houston-based doctor says she was removed from an American Airlines flight and humiliated in front of her son because her outfit—a colorful romper—was deemed “inappropriate” for the flight. Dr. Latisha “Tisha” Rowe, who was flying with her 8-year-old son on June 30 from Kingston, Jamaica (hot) to Miami (also hot!), described the incident on…
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In-Flight Racism: Black Doctor Says She Was Racially Profiled on a Plane While Helping a Sick Passenger
Delta Airlines is apologizing for a “misunderstanding” that occurred on one of its partnered flights when a black Harvard-educated doctor was repeatedly asked to explain her credentials—even after showing her medical license—to flight attendants as she was trying to assist a passenger. The apology comes after Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford spoke out about her treatment…
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NAACP Lifts Travel Warning Against American Airlines
The NAACP announced Tuesday that it’s lifting its American Airlines travel advisory, saying it was encouraged by the progress the airline had made in addressing issues of implicit bias. The advisory cautioning black passengers to beware of traveling on the airline was issued last October after several high-profile incidents involving African American travelers. The warning…
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Black Woman Kicked Off Delta-SkyWest Flight Over Airplane-Mode Dispute Still Seeking Answers
In late June, cellphone video taken on a Delta-Skywest plane circulated around social media. Posted by Robyn Rodgers on Facebook and an Instagram account under her alias, Deejay Reborn, the videos show a white flight attendant arguing with Rodgers, and then with others on a small aircraft, about their behavior on the flight—behavior she deemed…
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Nigerian Woman, Who Was Removed From United Flight After a White Passenger Complained She Was ‘Pungent,’ Files Lawsuit
Seems as if the airlines are still clowning and being targeted with lawsuits because of the clownery. More recently, United Airlines was hit with a racial-discrimination lawsuit after removing a Nigerian woman and her children from one of its flights, all because of a white passenger’s complaints. According to ABC, the actual incident occurred in…
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#FlyingWhileBlack: NAACP Issues Travel Warning for Black People Flying American Airlines
The NAACP issued an alert Tuesday warning black travelers to use caution if they decide to fly with American Airlines because of what the organization described as a “pattern of disturbing incidents reported by African-American passengers” over a period of several months. According to SFGate, the travel advisory described one incident in which a black…
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#FlyingWhileBlack: Harvard Law School Student Booted From American Airlines Plane With Infant
There’s news of yet another black woman being hostilely removed from an American Airlines airplane. This time it was a 24-year-old Harvard Law student who was traveling with her 4-month-old baby from Atlanta to New York. She and her infant daughter were forced to sleep in the airport to catch the first flight out the…
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