FORT WORTH, Texas _ The NAACP issued a travel advisory Tuesday night that warned black travelers against flying on American Airlines, citing multiple instances of alleged racial discrimination.
In a written statement, the civil rights organization said it "has been monitoring a pattern of disturbing incidents reported by African-American passengers, specific to American Airlines."
A few examples of the alleged discriminatory behavior were included in the NAACP's warning, including a black woman who booked first-class seats for her and her white friend _ but the black woman's ticket was downgraded to coach and the white traveler's was not.
The NAACP alleged that a black woman and her child, traveling on American Airlines to New York from Atlanta, were kicked off a flight because she "asked that her stroller be retrieved from checked baggage before she would disembark."
A black man booked on a flight to Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina from Washington, D.C., was forced to give up his ticket for speaking back to "unruly white passengers," the NAACP alleged. And the pilot of another flight going to New York from Miami asked that a black passenger be removed after she complained that her seat was changed, the NAACP said.
In July 2015, around 80 black American Airlines employees working in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., said their managers called them "circus-monkeys" and the N-word, according to NBC10. They also accused the managers of labeling places the black employees often worked as the "jungle" or the "chocolate break room."
They also said that white employees were given safer equipment while on the job.
And this month, Tamika Mallory told The Philadelphia Tribune she asked for her middle seat to be changed to an aisle seat at a kiosk but was still given the middle seat. Mallory said when she complained, she was called to the front of the plane over its announcement system and was removed.
These incidents may just be "the tip of the iceberg," wrote the NAACP, adding that they "suggest a corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias."
American Airlines released a statement saying it is "disappointed to hear about this travel advisory as our team members _ a diverse community of gate agents, pilots, and flight attendants _ are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds," CBS reported.
"We will invite representatives of the NAACP to meet with our team at our headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas," the airline's statement continued. "We are committed to having a meaningful dialogue about our airline and are ready to both listen and engage."
A meeting with American Airlines is exactly what NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said he wants.
"We expect an audience with the leadership of American Airlines to air these grievances and to spur corrective action," he said in the advisory. "Until these and other concerns are addressed, this national travel advisory will stand."
In August, the civil rights organization issued a travel advisory for black travelers about Missouri, the first time it issued such a warning for a state since the NAACP's founding in 1909.
