American Airlines Faces Backlash from NAACP for Removing 8 Black Men Over Body Odor
After American Airlines removed eight Black males off a flight last month after a white flight attendant complained an unnamed passenger had body odor, the NAACP has vowed to reimpose a travel ban on the airline.
Following many reports of prejudice, the civil rights organization advised African American travelers on their airline to “exercise caution” in 2017. When reserving or boarding an airline, Black Americans appeared to be subjected to “disrespectful, discriminatory, or unsafe conditions,” according to four “alarming” events that the organization cited at the time.
In July 2018, the NAACP rescinded its prohibition when American Airlines established a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) panel in response.
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However, American Ariline’s council was dissolved last year due to the increasing politics of DEI initiatives.
The NAACP is now requesting that the business address growing claims of discrimination.
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NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson stated in a statement that “recent discriminatory actions from company employees prove that there is a dire need for continued accountability and resolution to this clear pattern.”
Track athlete Sha’Carri Richardson said in 2023 that she and a fan who wanted a photo were “threatened” by a flight attendant. Even though the boys were his sons, American staff members suspected singer David Ryan Harris of trafficking minors and questioned him at LAX that same year.
Retired Circuit Judge Pamela Hill-Veal told NPR earlier this year that in February, while she and her family were traveling first class on an American Airlines flight from Chicago to Phoenix, a flight attendant accused her of “slamming” the first class bathroom door and told her she would have to spend the remainder of the journey using the restroom at the back of the aircraft.
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Additionally, three Black males sued American Airlines only last month, claiming that staff members coerced them and the other male Black customers to get off a flight that was traveling from California to New York.
The lawsuit claims that the plaintiffs were not provided with an explanation for their removal right away. A representative didn’t tell them that a white male flight attendant had complained about an unnamed passenger’s body odor until they repeatedly demanded an explanation. According to the lawsuit, none of the guys who were taken were accused of having an objectionable odor.
Several of the males may be seen complaining they were the target of discrimination in the incident’s video footage. In response to the charges, at least one American delegate can be heard stating, “I agree.”
Johnson urged American Airlines to bring back the advisory group and get together with the NAACP once more to work out a future that would guarantee fair treatment for all of its passengers. “The NAACP will be forced to reinstate an advisory against the airline unless they respond swiftly and decisively.”
“We have worked with the NAACP to institute education and training programs to address issues of bias on our aircraft and within our hiring practices to eliminate bias and create a workforce and customer experience that represents the customers we serve,” an American Airlines spokesperson told The Hill.
Attorney Michael Kirkpatrick of Public Citizen Litigation Group and partner Susan Huhta of Outten & Golden, who represent the plaintiffs, said in a statement released on Wednesday that their three clients are “still waiting for American Airlines to provide them with a reasonable explanation for why they were removed from the airplane and publicly humiliated.”
The firm takes “all claims of discrimination very seriously and wants our customers to have a positive experience when they choose to fly with us,” American Airlines previously stated in an interview with The Hill. The business went on to say that “the claims do not reflect our core values or our purpose of caring for people” and that the issue was under investigation.