Tag: discrimination
Black Harvard doctor accuses flight attendants of discrimination
A black doctor from Boston says she was racially profiled when flight attendants grilled her over her credentials while she assisted a sick passenger.
Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford was on a flight home from Indianapolis on Tuesday when she noticed the woman next to her was hyperventilating. Stanford – who is a physician at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital – was already aiding the passenger when a flight attendant stopped by and asked Stanford if she was a doctor, CNN reported.
Stanford told the flight attendant that she was a doctor, but a second flight attendant then came by and asked for Stanford’s medical license, which Stanford presented.
Stanford claims that both flight attendants came back a third time to ask her if her medical license truly belonged to her. Stanford believes the flight attendants questioned her credentials because she is a black woman.
“I don’t understand why there was a dialogue there,” Stanford told the Boston Globe. “I showed them my license twice, and they still didn’t believe it was mine. None of that was taken into account, and I thought that was quite frustrating.”
Stanford tweeted about the incident, prompting the airline to reach out to her by email on Wednesday morning.
“@delta I am very disappointed that your policies on #Diversity have not lead to any change. As a #blackwoman #doctor who showed my #medical license to help a passenger on DL5935 your #flightattendant still did not believe I was a #Physician. @DrSinhaEsq @DrKathyHughes,” Stanford tweeted.
“@Delta my experience last night when a fellow passenger needed help shows that being a @harvardmed @MassGeneralMDs does not shield from #racism #WhatADoctorLooksLike #ILookLikeADoctor #ILookLikeASurgeon #BiasInMedicine #implicitbias #BlackWomenDoctors do exist,” Stanford wrote in a second tweet.
Stanford said she’s still not convinced Delta made any changes to its policy following a conversation with the airline about the bizarre encounter. Delta reportedly told her the flight attendants mistook her for a therapist.
“So I spoke with @Delta and I left the conversation quite uncertain that any changes will be made. Summary: flight attendants thought I was a #therapist despite #MDlicense. They will make sure this is addressed. Thanks for being a #skymiles member. Really?!$ #iamadoctor,” she tweeted.
Delta apologized to Stanford in a statement and said it would conduct a full investigation.
“We thank Dr. Stanford for her medical assistance and are sorry for any misunderstanding that may have occurred during her exchange with the in-flight crew,” the airline said in a statement.
“According to the flight crew’s account, they initially misread the credentials offered by the doctor and went to reconfirm her specific medical discipline. We are following up with the crew to insure proper policy is followed.”
Delta’s request for medical credentials violates a policy implemented in 2016, after Dr. Tamika Cross, who is also black, was kept from helping a sick passenger on a Delta flight from Detroit to Minneapolis.
Delta no longer requires medical credential verification to secure help and simply requires the volunteer’s statement that he or she is a doctor, physician assistant, nurse, paramedic or EMT.
Delta spokesman Anthony L. Black told The Post that Stanford was actually on board a Republic flight, which is a Delta Connection carrier.
“We thank Dr. Stanford for her medical assistance onboard Republic flight 5935 IND-BOS, and are sorry for any misunderstanding that may have occurred during her exchange with the in-flight crew. Moving forward, we are following up with our connection carrier partner to ensure their employees understand and consistently apply the policy, ” Black said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
“Regardless of aircraft, all customers are Delta customers and we are committed to ensuring they enjoy a similar experience on every flight. Delta changed its policy for providing medical credentials in 2016, and we are working with all of our connection partners to ensure their changes and actions align with ours,” the statement continued.
Article via HotNewHipHop
Woman denied job for ‘ghetto’ name, but company blames hacker
A Missouri woman said she’s hurt and distraught after being denied a job because her name was considered too “ghetto” — but company officials insist a hacker sent the racist message.
Hermeisha Robinson, of Bellefontaine Neighbors, shared her experience with Mantality Health in Chesterfield in a Facebook post on Monday, saying she was discriminated against due to her name — even though she had what it takes to fill the job post.
“I have a public service announcement,” Robinson wrote in an all-caps post. “I am very upset because today I received an email about this job that I applied for as a customer service representative at Mantality Health … I know I’m well qualified for the position as they seen on my resume!”
Robinson’s post continued: “They discriminated against me because of my name which they considered it to be ‘ghetto’ for their company! My feelings are very hurt and they even got me second guessing my name trying to figure out if my name is really that ‘ghetto.’”
Robinson asked friends to share her post, saying the “discrimination has to stop,” but company officials contend the message isn’t authentic, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Kevin Meuret, the CEO of the clinic that treats men with low testosterone, told the newspaper on Tuesday that someone from outside Missouri hacked into its email system, most likely a disgruntled former employee.
“Thank you for your interest in careers at Mantality Health,” read the response to Robinson. “Unfortunately we do not consider candidates that have suggestive ‘ghetto’ names. We wish you the best in your career search.”
Meuret said about 20 potential employees got emails from the hacker. Reports have since been filed with police in both Chesterfield and St. Louis County, he said.
“I’m a father of three daughters, and that young lady getting that [response] is horrible,” Meuret told the newspaper. “That young lady opened something that must have felt like a freight train, and that’s unacceptable.”
Meuret promised to “pursue this even if it becomes a federal matter,” he told the Post-Dispatch.
In a statement to The Post, Meuret said the password for an independent job board site used by the company was compromised Monday.
“We are currently working with law enforcement to identify the perpetrator and consider appropriate legal action,” the statement read. “We share the anger and frustration of those who received these bogus emails.”
Robinson, meanwhile, told The Post Wednesday that she’s still reeling from the pure hatred exposed in the hacked message.
“The first thing that went through my mind is how could someone just outright say something so mean like that,” Robinson said. “I wasn’t expecting that from a job. I didn’t name myself, I didn’t give myself this name. How can people be so mean, and so horrible?”
It was the first time Robinson applied to the company and she had not been contacted by anyone investigating the matter as of Wednesday, she said.
“It just makes me not want to do anything,” she said of the entire ordeal. “I don’t want to do anything anymore: go outside, say my name to people, anything.”
Robinson’s job hunt is still ongoing. She wouldn’t accept a job at the testosterone clinic even if one were offered to her at this point, she said.
“I wouldn’t feel safe,” she told The Post. “If some hacker got my email to reach me, they have my Social Security number, my birthday, they have everything. It just wouldn’t be a good working environment.”
Robinson’s cousin, Miltina Burnett, posted a screenshot of a message she received Monday from company officials indicating that a former employee hacked into the company’s system.
But regardless of the authenticity of the messages, the damage for Robinson has been very real, she said.
Hospital employee fired for calling doughnut shop worker the N-word in video
A Mississippi Baptist Medical Center employee has been fired after video of him calling a doughnut shop worker a racial slur multiple times went viral.
Kyle Thomas worked in the radiology department at the medical center in Flowood, Miss.
On Saturday, he visited the local Donut Palace in his full scrubs and he got into an altercation with shop employee Keaundrea Wardlaw.
According to Wardlaw, Thomas was upset about the service and the two began to argue.
In the video Wardlaw recorded, Thomas is heard telling Wardlaw, a black woman, to “shut her f–king mouth,” and then proceeds to call her the N-word multiple times.
Wardlaw responds by calling Thomas a “b—h“ and later follows Thomas out to his car, where she records his license plate number.
The video has since gone viral, pulling in thousands of negative reactions demanding Thomas be let go from his job.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Thomas tried to defend his actions, writing, “I am so sorry, there is nothing I can say that will change what I said. I drove back up there and tried to apologize and she had gone. I regret every word that I said there is no excuse to ever say these horrible things. I only hope that by me sharing a public apology in this incident you could show me some grace. I was upset about another issue and it spilled over into this and I can’t apologize enough,” Yahoo Lifestyle reported.
Wardlaw confirmed to WJTV that Thomas came back to apologize to her boss for causing a scene, but did not apologize to her. According to WJTV, Wardlaw said she would have accepted an apology from Thomas.
However, Twitter users did not believe the apology.
Ayoka Pond, a spokesperson for the hospital, said in a statement to Fox News that Thomas’ actions do not represent the hospital and confirmed that he had been fired.
“We are aware of the confrontation captured on video involving one of our off-duty employees at a local donut shop. We take this situation very seriously. This employee’s language and behavior does not represent our organization’s values and his employment has been terminated.
“We want our patients, employees, physicians and our community to know that we find the language used in the video to be completely unacceptable and inconsistent with what we expect from employees or anyone associated with our organization. We are committed to a work environment that is inclusive and where everyone is respected and valued.”
The Donut Shop also released a statement announcing its zero-tolerance policy for racist behavior.
“I am extremely disappointed and disgusted at what took place this past Saturday. It was shocking and painful to watch this footage and imagine what Ms. Wardlaw must have felt at the time. Regardless of the grievances people have or anything that may have happened prior to this incident, no one deserves to be treated this way. We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior, and we will support Ms. Wardlaw in whatever action she chooses to take as a result,” the Donut Shop wrote on Facebook.
Wardlaw claims she did not want the man to be fired but felt Thomas should be held accountable for using the N-word, she told WJTV.
3 women arrested after using bathroom in restaurant claim racial discrimination
Three women are accusing a Georgia restaurant of racial discrimination after being arrested for allegedly taking too long in the bathroom.
WMAZ reports Brittany Lucio, Asia’h Epperson and Erica Walker asked to use the restroom at an Atlanta-area restaurant called Houston’s on Mother’s Day last week. A shift manager claims they were in the bathroom after the restaurant closed at 10 p.m. and, when they refused to leave, asked a police officer who was working security at the restaurant to escort them out.
A police report says the security officer found the women on their phones inside the restroom, ignoring his request to leave. When he grabbed Lucio by the wrist and said “Let’s go,” she pulled away and shouted “Get your hands off of me!”
The situation worsened from there; the officer says Lucio threw a punch, hitting his mouth. He asked Houston’s staff to call 911 for backup while restraining Lucio and Walker outside the restaurant.
Epperson, a former “American Idol” contestant and “Greenleaf” actress, began recording the incident on the phone, showing the officer pinning one of the two women down on the ground.
WSB-TV reports all three were arrested when additional officers arrived, and booked in Fulton County Jail. Lucio was charged with criminal trespass and felony obstruction; Walker and Epperson were charged with criminal trespass.
Lauren Pozen WSB@LaurenPozenWSBThese women were charged with a crime after they say a Houston’s security guard assaulted them. At 5, why they have the support of @Tip and what the security guard says led up to this.
Epperson told WSB-TV on Tuesday that she plans to take legal action against the Atlanta Police Department, claiming the officer lied on the police report. The restaurant was open and “full of people,” she said. They were in the restroom less than 10 minutes, including using a phone to give an Uber driver directions to pick them up, she added.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong. We were never asked multiple times to leave. That is a lie. We are moving forward very rapidly with this matter things will be handled legally,” Epperson said in a statement.
Epperson, 29, was a semi-finalist on “American Idol” season 7 in 2008. She also notably played Felicia in the 2015 movie “Straight Outta Compton” about N.W.A. rappers Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Dr. Dre.
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Brooklyn cafe ripped for depriving black children of Halloween treats, turning them away
A Brooklyn coffee shop has turned into a neighborhood pariah after it was accused of doling out Halloween treats to white children only.
The Strand Cafe on Nostrand Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant has come under fire on social media and at its location since a pair of prominent residents aired their account of discrimination.
“Tricks for some, treats for others,” read one sign plastered on a window Saturday, complete with a drawing of a crying pumpkin.
“It’s absolutely disgraceful when other people come into black communities and try to change the whole atmosphere of a community,” said Iman Essiet, 27, after she stopped to look at the signs. “I think this specific establishment needs to be shut down.” The furor erupted Tuesday afternoon after Oma Holloway and Michael Catlyn, both members of Community Board 3, stopped in to the cafe for a tea and coffee.
The pair were waiting online when they saw the lone cafe worker turn away three different sets of costumed black children out trick-or-treating with adults, Catlyn said.
But a pair of white kids, with an older woman, received a much different response. The man behind the counter pulled out a glass jar of individually-wrapped cookies and eagerly doled them out, Catlyn said.“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said Catlyn, 54, who’s lived in the neighborhood for 32 years. “I was thinking there is no way this is happening right now.”
The pair weren’t having it and walked out without their beverages.
Holloway posted a brief account of the incident on Facebook, prompting a wave of angry replies.
Soon the Strand’s Yelp page was inundated with one-star reviews and scathing comments.
A man who identified himself as the owner eventually posted a message on Yelp, describing the incident as a misunderstanding.
The man said the cafe had nothing on-hand to give to trick-or-treaters. “If a child received an item, it was because it was purchased by a parent, not because we favor children over others,” he said. “That would be completely inappropriate as well as against our core values of decency.”
Catlyn said members of the community board had a productive Saturday meeting with the owner who told them the worker had since apologetically admitted to the act. “We’re trying to use this as a teachable moment and get a positive outcome,” he said.