This is a really sad story, and it underlines just how pervasive racism can be. On an American domestic flight a man started choking and the flight crew asked the passengers whether there was a doctor on the plane.
There was a doctor; she happened to be a black woman. The flight attendant dismissed her offer to help and said "No, we are looking for an 'actual' physician or medical staff". Can you imagine how that would feel? You are a black woman who has worked your butt off to get good grades in high school and then at college so you can get into medical school, you've done well enough to continue on to become an OBGYN specialist and yet on this flight you are dismissed out of hand merely because you are a black woman. I can't imagine how frustrating and hurtful that would be.
For the sort of people who are constantly claiming that there is no real racism and deny the economic disparities between white and black people, this story is a reminder that no matter how hard a black person works and how accomplished they are, these racists can't accept them even when they are discriminating against someone who is smarter and more accomplished than they are.
Tamika Cross is an OB/GYN resident at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Houston, Texas. During a flight, a passenger two rows in front of her cried out for help because her husband was unresponsive, Cross said in aFacebook post published over the weekend.
Cross stood up to help, but a flight attendant told passengers to “stay calm” because the incident was just a night terror. But soon afterwards, the same attendant was calling out to see if any doctors were on board who could help.
That’s when Cross says she was met with skepticism by the Delta crew member. “[O]h no sweetie put ur hand down, we are looking for actual physicians or nurses or some type of medical personnel, we don’t have time to talk to you,” Cross reported her as saying in her Facebook post.
This is a really sad story, and it underlines just how pervasive racism can be. On an American domestic flight a man started choking and the flight crew asked the passengers whether there was a doctor on the plane.
There was a doctor; she happened to be a black woman. The flight attendant dismissed her offer to help and said "No, we are looking for an 'actual' physician or medical staff". Can you imagine how that would feel? You are a black woman who has worked your butt off to get good grades in high school and then at college so you can get into medical school, you've done well enough to continue on to become an OBGYN specialist and yet on this flight you are dismissed out of hand merely because you are a black woman. I can't imagine how frustrating and hurtful that would be.
For the sort of people who are constantly claiming that there is no real racism and all the problems suffered by people in the black community are their own fault, this is a very timely story to show that for many black people, no matter how hard you work and how much you accomplish, you will always be treated as though you're not smart enough, not good enough, not really deserving enough. It's disgraceful.
Well it's the passenger's loss. I hope he didn't die.
If he did his family would have had a very strong legal claim against the airline (not to mention the airline would have been shredded in the court of public opinion)
Absolutely. I feel really bad for this woman because all her life she will have been judged by people before they know her, before they hear what she has to say, before they find out about her intellect and accomplishments. They will see a black woman, and already she is behind the curve and having to fight just to be considered equal (and of course, if she does get irritated and try to fight it, she will be labelled "Angry black woman").
Its really sad isn't it. I dont know about racism but it is definately stereotyping. Just like when they move men from their booked seats if they are sitting next to an unacompanied child.
This makes me really sad as a black female aspiring doctor I know how hard she must have worked to get into med school in the first place, it being in America means she may very well have struggled financially since it is very expensive and an extra long course, and through all of that she's probably had to deal with both racism and sexism working against her. But really, this just acts as motivation for me to prove those racists wrong, and she should still be very proud of everything she has overcome and achieved