Is American Airlines racist? In the United States, three black men took their case to a New York court on Wednesday, May 29. They accuse the airline of racial discrimination, after being excluded from a plane with five other African-Americans, under the pretext of “bad body odor”. A traumatic experience for the three plaintiffs, who are demanding compensation.
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The video of the incident made the rounds on social networks: three black men, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, Alvin Jackson, Xavier Veal, as well as five other African-American men, forced to leave a plane that was about to take off for New York.
According to an American Airlines employee, a colleague complained about their “ bad smell », therefore inviting the eight men to take another flight. But due to a lack of available aircraft, they finally return to their place under the accusing gaze of the other passengers.
The facts date back to last January. Five months after this humiliating experience, three of the eight victims decided to gather their testimonies and file a lawsuit against the airline for racial discrimination.
In response, American Airlines says it is taking “ttake all allegations of discrimination seriously », and indicates that an internal investigation is open.
This isn’t the first time the airline has been in turmoil over racial issues. In 2017, she had already had to apologize to two black basketball players kicked off a plane after being wrongly accused of stealing blankets.
For the three plaintiffs, it was therefore important to publicize this case, so that the company was condemned beyond a simple financial sanction.
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