A Black software developer made an impact after taking to Twitter to recall her experience with racism while sitting in first class with nine of her friends.
Angie Jones and a group of her friends were headed out on a girls’ trip and decided to enjoy the luxury of flying first class. But on July 27, Jones shared a series of tweets recalling how airplane staff and passengers were so surprised by seeing 10 Black women in first class.
“This weekend I went on a girl’s trip,” Jones tweeted. “10 Black women flying first class. People literally could not process how it was possible.”
She explained the treatment she and her group received from the airline staff and fellow passengers.
“Staff tried to send us to regular lines. Passengers made snide remarks. One guy even yelled, “are they a higher class of people than I am?!” Jones said before adding, “Stay mad.”
After receiving over 30,000 likes on Twitter, other users replied to Jones’ tweet sharing their own experiences or realizations of first-class racism.
“I’m brown and this happened to me,” one man said. “I had enough credits to upgrade my flight from SFO to YYZ to biz class. Standing the priority boarding queue a white man behind me told me I may be in the wrong queue. Showed him my boarding pass, aisle seat at row 1. He shut up quick.”
There were even some who cast doubt on Jones’ story and whether she and her friends were flying first-class. She decided to issue out a little clap back reminding them that they too are the problem.
“Don’t have the spoons to reply to everyone but to those saying I’m lying, you’re a huge part of the problem,” she added. “You tell yourself a notable person is lying (for what reason, I cannot figure out) before you believe there are actual racists in…America. FYI, yall look really foolish.”