DETROIT — A young black female doctor’s Facebook post detailing an alleged case of discrimination during a mid-flight medical emergency is setting social media on fire this week.
Tamika Cross claims she was flying to Houston from Detroit via Minneapolis aboard a Delta Airlines flight, when an old man sat two rows in front became “unresponsive”.
Initially thought by airline staff to be a “night terror,” the man became unresponsive again and staff asked for help.
That’s when Tamika volunteered to help, but was told by the airline attendant that they required “an actual physician.” That same Delta attendant reportedly probed her for info, asking for her credentials, about her background and what she was doing in Detroit.
But then a white man claiming to be a doctor volunteered to help, Tamika notes he didn’t face the same line of questioning she did.
She was naturally angered, but when the attendant asked for some advice later, Tamika says she still helped them out. Tamika wrote that the airline staff did apologize and tried to offer her free air miles, but she refused.
Delta has responded to the Tamika’s claims, saying discrimination is unacceptable and they’re investigating the incident.
Tamika is listed as “Tamika Cross, M.D.” and as a resident physician on the University of Texas Health Science Center website.
