Women's March Organizer Kicked off American Flight

Tamika Mallory says she was treated disrespectfully
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 16, 2017 7:15 PM CDT
Women's March Organizer Kicked off American Flight
   (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

An activist who helped organize the Women's March on Washington has accused an American Airlines pilot of racial discrimination in kicking her off a flight, AP reports. In a series of tweets and a Facebook Live post, Tamika Mallory said that a pilot had her removed from a Sunday flight from Miami to New York after she had a dispute with another airline employee over her seat assignment. "Only reason this pilot got involved was to assert his white male power over who he thought was just some uppity black girl," Mallory tweeted. American said it apologized for mishandling Mallory's attempt to move from a middle seat to an aisle seat, but it denied the heart of her accusation. The crew decided that the best thing to do was rebook Mallory on the next flight to New York's LaGuardia Airport, and Mallory took that flight home.

Mallory said that she used an airport kiosk to upgrade her seat, but when she tried to board the plane, an employee tore up her boarding pass and gave her another — with her original middle seat. The gate agent was unable to explain the error, and Mallory accused the agent, a black woman, of failing to treat her with respect. One of the pilots got involved at the end of the confrontation, Mallory said, asking her if she could behave herself once on board the plane. After going to her seat, Mallory was called to the front of the plane, where she was met by several employees and was told she was being removed. Some other passengers who photographed Mallory on the plane said that she cursed and was abusive to crew members. On Facebook Live, Mallory said she only lost her composure when it was clear that she was being kicked off.

(More Tamika Mallory stories.)

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