I’m not sure why, but it seemed like I should tell this WN flight attendant (JacqueRae) that had sought me out, that I worked in the business, too. Toward the end, I felt compelled to tell her what I did for a living. We talked for a good ten minutes and it was an absolute gift to me. I told her I was trying to learn and through tears and a mask, she said, “So am I.” The best I could do was tell her that the book talks about how white people are horrible at talking about racism, and that what we need are real conversations. I felt wholly inadequate but I knew it was a special moment. She says, “It’s on my list to read and I saw you bring it onboard and I just wanted to talk to you….” And then she started to cry. She is a young, black woman and she points at the book lodged in my seat pocket and asks, “How do you like that book?” I say it’s fantastic and defensively show her how I’m a bit past midway. My ego again assumes she has recognized me, mask and all, and wants to know why I’m flying Southwest.īut, no, she has no idea who I am. I put the book in the seat pocket, logged into WiFi and began reading and sending emails without opening the book.Ībout an hour into our 90-minute flight, the flight attendant from the front of the aircraft leaves her position and walks back to me in row 25 and sits down in the aisle seat. I boarded the aircraft and found an empty row in the back. The horrific and senseless death of George Floyd reminded me there were bigger issues in our world than coronavirus, so I packed the book for the trip. It is fantastic - challenging, and educational - but I’m embarrassed to say I had only gotten halfway through it before the crisis hit, and hadn’t picked it up since. The book is White Fragility - the book Marty Nesbitt recommended to Elise and that both she and Maya had recommended to all of us.
Then he continued,Īs I prepared to board, I pulled the book I wanted to read inflight from my backpack. Parker said he appreciated the anonymity of flying Southwest rather than American – and face masks. He explains why he was on Southwest Airlines in the first place, “I needed to get to Panama City, FL and all of our seats were sold out!” It was kind of him not to bump a passenger. Last summer I wrote that every day an American Airlines officer takes turns sending a note to other officers about “create an environment that cares for front line team members.” Parker reported that he wears a wrist band “that says CECFTM stands for Create an Environment that Cares for our Frontline Team Members.” He relayed this story first as part of that practice, and then it was shared broadly with American Airlines employees on their intranet, Jetnet. This story, initially shared by the flight attendant to Facebook, is gaining broad coverage across the internet.ĭoug Parker actually shared his version of the encounter as well. This morning I covered a fantastic story about an interaction between American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, where they connected over issues of race and the challenges confronting our country right now.
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