A black Chicago woman accused American Airlines of racial discrimination, claiming a flight attendant confronted her after she used the plane’s first-class lavatory.
NPR obtained the complaint from Pamela Hill-Veal late last month, and various media outlets have had a field day over the story, with one equating the woman to the “Rosa Parks” of airplanes.
Hill-Veal stated that while flying first class with her family on February 10 from Chicago to Phoenix, a flight attendant stopped her upon returning to her seat and accused her of slamming the restroom door.
Hill-Veal, a retired circuit court judge from Illinois, said she did not respond to the flight attendant’s remarks and continued walking back to her seat.
The former judge recounted during an interview with NPR how the flight attendant accused her of having “slammed the restroom door.”
The attendant then warned her not to do it again since other passengers were sleeping, however, Hill-Veal asserted that she never slammed the door.
Hill-Veal stated in her complaint that she used the same first-class restroom, only to be stopped by the same flight attendant once more.
“He began to berate me by pointing his finger at me towards my face and saying, ‘I told you not to slam the door … so from now on, you are to use the restroom in the back of the plane’ while he pointed in the direction of the restroom in coach,” she recounted.
Hill-Veal believes the incident was racially motivated, pointing out that white passengers used the same first-class restroom without being told to use the one in the back of the plane.
“The flight attendant was pointing his finger at me and said again, ‘I told you to stop slamming the door…,’” she added.
Hill-Veal used the restroom for a third time about 30 minutes before landing. The same flight attendant followed her to her seat upon leaving and allegedly began physically touching Hill-Veal, the former judge claimed.
The flight attendant then warned her she would be arrested upon landing.
Hill-Veal stated in her complaint that the flight attendant told her she would be arrested because he “didn’t like the way [she] talked to him” and accused her of hitting him.
“This was a complete fabrication as I told him that I never hit him,” she said.
Hill-Veal told NPR that she has struggled with sleep due to the trauma and feels humiliated.
“I’m still uncomfortable about flying because I don’t know what they’re going to say that I did… in an attempt to cover up for what they did during this particular time,” she said.
American Airlines acknowledged their contact with Hill-Veal in a statement to NPR. “We strive to ensure that every customer has a positive travel experience, and we take all claims of discrimination very seriously,” the airline said.
The Young Turks program recently ran a segment about the saga, and included an excerpt from Atlanta Black Star that said, “The incident recalls the historical injustice of Rosa Parks being told to move to the back of the bus almost 70 years ago.”
“… Despite the passage of more than six decades since the situation involving Parks, incidents like these in 2024 highlight ongoing challenges with racial equality in the United States,” it continued.
NPR also highlighted several other racial discrimination cases against American Airlines in its article in an attempt to add more weight to Hill-Veal’s recount.
These cases included two high-profile incidents involving track star Sha’Carri Richardson and musician David Ryan Harris.
Axios reported that Richardson found herself ejected from an American Airlines flight after a heated exchange with a flight attendant, who accused the athlete of harassment and intimidation.
The airline responded to Axios in a statement mirroring the one given to NPR about the allegations from Hill-Veal, asserting that it “strives to provide a positive and welcoming experience to everyone who travels with us and we take allegations of discrimination very seriously.”
CBS News reported in September that Harris, traveling with his two biracial children, was stopped and interrogated at Los Angeles International Airport when an American Airlines flight attendant suspected he was trafficking the children.
Harris later shared a statement he received from the airline: “We and our flight attendant realized that our policies regarding suspected human trafficking were not followed, and through coaching and counseling … our flight attendant realizes that their interaction and observations did NOT meet the criteria that human trafficking was taking place.”
The post Former Judge Calls Out Airlines’ Racism After Being Told To Stop Slamming First-Class Bathroom Door Multiple Times appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
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Author: Jordyn M.
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