The woman who accused American Airlines of racism
By Victory Oghene
American Airlines, a major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and reputed to be the largest airline in the world in terms of passengers carried and daily flights is enmeshed in racism scandal.
The airline was accused of racism and discrimination by an unnamed black woman.
In a video seen by NATIONAL WAVES, the woman stated that three white staff of American Airlines stopped her and another black mother from boarding their aircraft with their strollers while white mothers were allowed to board same aircraft with their strollers
In the video she said “This morning around 5am, two exhausted mothers travelling with two sleeping babies, we’ve flown countless times, we were told by American Airlines staff that our strollers, the same same strollers that we’ve gate checked without issue with South West and United had to be dropped off at baggage, no empathy, no compromise, just refusal but what broke us wasn’t the gruelling walk through TSA with heavy children in our arms. It was watching, yes watching white families in the same line were allowed to keep their strollers, same set up, same flight process but different treatment. We were told that our strollers were different.
The only difference is the colour of our skin, we pleaded, we explained, we even showed prior check gate tags but these three white women at the counter didn’t flinch, they looked us in the eyes as their babies slept soundly and said No. For every parent of colour, to every mother, to every father, this is a warning. American Airlines didn’t just inconvenient us. They humiliated us. They reminded us that in their eyes, that our struggle, our fatigue, our humanity didn’t matter. We will not be silent. We will not let this slide.
“Discrimination especially the one that makes babies suffer should not be part of flying and as long as American Airlines choses to turn compassion into cruelty, families like mine, we take our love, our money elsewhere”
Watch video below
