American Airlines again accused of discrimination

Two recent high-profile incidents — including one involving Dallas-born track star Sha’Carri Richardson — have sparked new allegations of discrimination against Fort Worth-based American Airlines.

Drive the news: New York rapper Talib Kweli claimed in an Instagram video last week that his rights were violated after he was threatened with arrest and kicked off his plane due to the size of his luggage, which he said was cleared at the gate.

• Richardson was forced off her flight on Saturday after an argument with a flight attendant who Richardson said was harassing her and trying to intimidate him on a video shoot.
• Kweli posted Richardson’s video, claiming that the airline “is racist”. He questioned whether the airline’s flight attendants were “trained to profile, target and harass black people.”

Meanwhile: Another American Airlines traveler – a black man – filed a lawsuit in Florida who accuses the airline of “blatant racial discrimination” for kicking him off a flight from Miami to Atlanta after an argument with a flight attendant during the boarding process.

Why is this important: Black Travelers Report suffer bad treatment in the travel industry, roommate services like Airbnb to holidays abroad.

What they say: American Airlines said in a statement that the company is investigating all allegations of discrimination.

• “American Airlines strives to provide a positive and welcoming experience for everyone who flies with us and we take allegations of discrimination very seriously,” the company told Axios.

Rollback: American has previously been accused of discriminating against black travelers, according to the DMN.

• The NAACP issued a travel advisory in 2017 telling black people to avoid flying on American due to complaints about the airline. The NAACP dropped the advisory in 2018, and American implemented bias training and overhauled its complaints system.

What we are looking at: Whether Richardson or Kweli pursue legal action.

• “If I can help one person not have to go through a situation like this with an individual like this, I’ll take the heat,” Richardson wrote on Instagram.