Delta Air Lines upgrades Black woman after White co-passenger harassed her on Washington flight, bans racist flyer
A Black woman was reportedly harassed on a Delta Air Lines flight by a White woman as she traveled to Washington DC. Demetria Poe, a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was going to the capital city in August for the Commitment March – a civil rights rally – when an unidentified woman made her feel unsafe and uncomfortable. However, Delta Air Lines stood up for her and against racism as it provided an upgrade.
Describing the whole incident, Poe wrote on Facebook: “So on my way to the Commitment, March in DC on Thursday, a White woman who I helped with her bags sat next to me on the plane. She left her seat and came back with a Blue Lives Matter mask on and a pin to match. She proceeded to remain silent until take off but once we took off she started the conversation with me by saying, “I support blue lives because I support our officers”. I explained to her blue lives do not exist. The life of an officer exists but there is no such thing as a blue life and that statement is nothing but a rebuttal to the fact that BLM has been disregarded time after time after time.”
But the White woman did not understand her view, and made comments, like “Africans from the west sold the most slaves”, “The reason Blacks we’re 3/4th was because the south would have to many votes” and “Having Blacks in America has been the best thing for them because they can work their way up”. Poe also stated that other White women and “man who sat around us snapped on this lady in my defense. The flight attendants came over to check on me and offered to move her. Once we landed in DC they told me that she would not be flying with Delta anymore because they do not personally or as a company stands for racism and discrimination.”
The Black woman told USA Today that though her co-passenger’s statements made her "uncomfortable" and "fearful”, she chose not to react because "I feel like in that situation they do want to see a Black woman get angry”. She added: “I felt the genuine and sincere concern the flight attendants had for me and the people around me. I was shocked. I was happy, but I was still fearful. Living in Minnesota, I have seen how things get blown up. I just really wanted to get off the flight."
Poe also wrote in her social media post that on her way back to Minneapolis, she found that Delta upgraded her seat. She also received a goodie bag containing a journal, a luggage tag and a Delta Black Lives Matter pin. “I said all this to say that it’s time and situations like these where these companies need to take a stance! This furthers why I will only fly Delta Air Lines! At this point make me an ambassador Delta. I just thank God that this didn’t flip onto me because too many cases Black people are guilty until proven innocent,” she said.
Poe’s Facebook has gone viral with people commenting on = things, like “GIRL!! So sorry you had to deal with that but I'm so thankful that Delta recognized you and tried to make amends in that way! It was so good seeing you!” and “I hate that she put you in that position, but this story made my night and gives me hope that the tide is changing”. Delta also replied to her post and wrote, “When we say Black lives matter, we mean it. You matter to us, Demetria."
The company’s spokesperson also released a statement that said, “The actions by our people in the air and on the ground are what really set us apart as a company bringing humanity to air travel. Based on an idea from one of our flight attendants, Delta has designed an optional pin for our people to wear while in uniform in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.”
“We have a lot of work to do for true equity to be within reach for the Black community, and it’s part of our culture to represent efforts of our customers and our employees care about. For now, these pins are for our people and not available to customers, but our teams chose to include a pin for this customer as part of their gesture,” the spokesperson added.