*A Texas doctor believes her race was a factor when she was removed from a recent American Airlines flight and asked to cover up with a blanket before being allowed back on the plane.
Dr. Tisha Rowe detailed the incident on Twitter, which included a selfie of herself wearing the same romper she wore on the June 30 flight from Jamaica to Miami.
Rowe said she was humiliated in front of her 8-year-old son, who had been traveling with her.
“Had they seen that same issue in a woman who was not a woman of color, they would not have felt empowered to take me off the plane,” Dr. Rowe said. “In pop culture, especially black women with a body like mine, they’re often portrayed as video vixens. So I’ve had to deal with those stereotypes my whole life.”
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Here is what i was wearing when @AmericanAir asked me to deplane for a talk. At which point I was asked to “cover up”. When defending my outfit I was threatened with not getting back on the flight unless I walked down the aisle wrapped in a blanket. #notsofriendlyskies pic.twitter.com/AYQNNriLcq
— Tisha Rowe MD, MBA (@tisharowemd) July 1, 2019
After being remove from the plane, Rowe says the flight attendant refused to allow her back on board unless she covered up the sleeveless romper.
“When defending my outfit I was threatened with not getting back on the flight unless I walked down the aisle wrapped in a blanket,” she wrote on Twitter.
“I felt powerless,” Rowe told Buzzfeed News. “There was nothing I could do in that moment other than give up my money and my seat to defend my position that I was completely appropriate.”
She shared the story on social media and immediately received an overwhelming number of supportive comments.
“We are policed for being black,” Rowe wrote on Facebook. ”Our bodies are over sexualized as women and we must adjust to make everyone around us comfortable. I’ve seen white women with much shorter shorts board a plane without a blink of an eye.”
“If American Airlines wanted passengers from Jamaica to Florida in June to wear snowsuits, that’s something they ought to put in their contract,” Rowe’s lawyer, Geoffrey Berg, tells Buzzfeed News.
I’ve seen white dudes get on planes in flip-flips, swim trunks and sleeveless tees. This is utter bs.
— Resister In The Rain (@meerkatrodeo) July 1, 2019
@AmericanAir shame on you for the blantant discrimination. It should be a all or none rule. I have seen skinny girls wear more revealing outfits. @tisharowem outfit is common for hot weather and her boobs and butt are covered. I will boycott American.
— GlamLifeMD (@GlamLifeMD) July 1, 2019
In a statement obtained by Fox News, American Airlines said it reached out to Rowe apologize.
“We were concerned about Dr. Rowe’s comments, and reached out to her and our team at the Kingston airport to gather more information about what occurred,” said American Airlines spokesperson Shannon Gilson. “We apologize to Dr. Rowe and her son for their experience, and have fully refunded their travel. We are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds and are committed to providing a positive, safe travel experience for everyone who flies with us.”
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