A national civil rights leader has filed a federal lawsuit against American Airlines after he says staff discriminated against him on the basis of race by having him removed from a flight this spring.
Rev. William Barber II, the president of the North Carolina branch of the NAACP, was removed from a flight headed from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Raleigh on April 15. He visited Washington for a Christian conference and was headed home.
Barber, who is black, asked an American Airlines flight attendant to ask two white men sitting behind him to lower their voices. They were "laughing and talking loudly to each other and appeared to be intoxicated," the lawsuit filed Wednesday says.
Barber asked for help from a flight attendant because he has disabilities that limit his ability to turn his head, he said.
The flight attendant complied, and the men behind Barber "became even more belligerent and started hurling insults, negative comments and expletives toward Reverend Barber," the lawsuit says.
"This person ended up being very belligerent and saying words that we know are code words for race," Barber said in an interview Wednesday.
"The passenger exclaimed to the person who was sitting next to him that he did not like 'those people,' and that 'those people' made him sick. Reverend Barber and other passengers who overheard the comments understood him to be referring to African Americans," the lawsuit says.
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The men quieted down and about 10 minutes later, officers escorted Barber off the plane. The two men were allowed to stay on the plane, the lawsuit says.
A witness said she was surprised to see Barber escorted away.
"The whole thing kind of was passed, so I really was shocked when the police came on," she said.
Barber's lawyer said his client was racially profiled.
"The flight attendant sees an African-American man and says, 'He must be the problem. Get him off the plane and we will fly,'" attorney John Relman said.
American Airlines said in a statement that the company could not discuss the specifics of the case due to the pending litigation.
"American does not tolerate discrimination of any kind and we are committed to providing a positive travel experience to all of our passengers," a statement from the airline said.
Barber spoke at the Democratic National Convention and started Moral Monday demonstrations in Raleigh that draw thousands of people.
