Upworthy

10 Black women sat in first class on an airplane and it revealed a lot about race in America

By Tod Perry,

20 hours ago

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Software developer Angie Jones' recent girls trip revealed that America still has a long way to go when it comes to race.

To most, that's not surprising. But what's unique is how the specific experience Jones and her friends went through revealed the pervasive way systemic racism still runs through our culture.

Jones is the Senior Director of Developer Relations at Applitools, holds 26 patented inventions in the United States of America and Japan, and is an IBM Master Inventor.

On July 27, she tweeted about a flight she took with nine other Black women and they all sat in first class. "People literally could not process how it was possible," she wrote. "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?!'"

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Jones and her friends were the targets of racism that ranged from the seemingly unconscious — people who assumed that Black people don't sit in first class — to the blatant — those who were seriously bothered that Black people were being treated as having a higher status.

It's interesting that she didn't mention anyone saying "good for you" for succeeding in a world that often holds people of color back. Instead, she was greeted with incredulity and jealous rage.

There are a lot of white people who can't stand the idea of a Black person being elevated above them. It's disturbing that in there are still some who will admit it publicly.

Jones' tweets inspired a lot of people to share their stories about the racism they've experienced while flying first class.

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Jones' tweets also angered some people to the point that they denied her story. To which she responded, "To those saying I'm lying, you're a huge part of the problem," she wrote. "You tell yourself a notable person is lying (for what reason, I cannot figure out) before you believe there are actual racists in...America."

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One Twitter user came up with the perfect retort to the person who asked, "Are they a higher class of people than I am?!"

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This article originally appeared on 07.29.21

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Neicy Nun

now

It never fails. Always trying to second guess is. we work and travel too. leave us alone please.

MrsFuriousStyles

4m ago

I have a simple response, I fly just about every week, and I only fly first class. I've flown hundreds of thousands of miles over the years, and oh, do I have stories to tell. These experiences are our lived experiences and do not need anyone's validation to be true. I've been told in the wrong boarding line. I've been asked by another passenger to prove I'm in first class (I'm always amazed by this request. Who are you, and why do you think I need to prove anything to you?) I've had a passenger push past me while saying that I'm not in first class. I've had flight attendants tell me I cannot use the first class lavatory, though I just got out of 3A. I've even had a flight attendant ask evey first class passenger except me if they wanted a pre-flight drink. This was so egregious that the gentlemen sitting next to me questioned her about not taking my order. So, yeah, all of these things happened. All of them are true. End of story.

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