A tale of racism in the friendly skies has gone viral within the last few days. Dr. Tamika Cross, a Houston-based OBGYN, told her story via a Facebook post on Oct. 9; as of this writing it has now been shared more than 40,000 times, accumulated more than 15,000 comments, and “liked” more than 100,000 times. Her story has also been picked up by the Washington Post, the Dallas News and NBC. In her own words, here’s the doc’s story:
“Was on Delta flight DL945 and someone 2 rows in front of me was screaming for help. Her husband was unresponsive. I naturally jumped into Doctor mode as no one else was getting up. [...] I continue to watch the scene closely.
“A couple minutes later he is unresponsive again and the flight attendant yells ‘call overhead for a physician on board.’ I raised my hand to grab her attention. [...]
“Then overhead they paged ‘any physician on board please press your button.’ I stare at her as I go to press my button. She said ‘oh wow you’re an actual physician?’ I reply yes. She said ‘let me see your credentials. What type of Doctor are you? Where do you work? Why were you in Detroit?’ (Please remember this man is still in need of help and she is blocking my row from even standing up while bombarding me with questions).
“I respond ‘OBGYN, work in Houston, in Detroit for a wedding, but believe it or not they DO HAVE doctors in Detroit. Now excuse me so I can help the man in need.’ Another ‘seasoned’ white male approaches the row and says he is a physician as well. She says to me ‘thanks for your help but he can help us, and he has his credentials.’ (Mind you he hasn’t shown anything to her. Just showed up and fit the “description of a doctor”) I stay seated. Mind blown. Blood boiling. (Man is responding the his questions and is seemingly better now Thank God)
“Then this heifer has the nerve to ask for my input on what to do next about 10 minutes later. [...] We continue down that pathway of medical work up, but the point is she needed my help and I continued to help despite the choice words I had saved up for her.”
According to Atlanta 11Alive, an NBC affiliate, Delta’s faux pas spawned a Twitter backlash under the hashtag #WhatDoctorsLookLike.
The news site also says that Delta has released a statement on the issue and is currently investigating:
"Delta continues to investigate a story surfaced by Dr. Tamika Cross in a recent post on Facebook.
We are troubled by any accusations of discrimination and take them very seriously. The experience Dr. Cross has described is not reflective of Delta’s culture or of the values our employees live out every day. We are in the process of conducting a full investigation. We’ve reached out to Dr. Cross to speak with her directly, talked with our crew members and we’re reaching out to customers who were on board to gather as much information as we can.
While there is much we can’t share because our investigation involves confidential personnel matters, we do want to share what we can.
Three medical professionals identified themselves on the flight in question. Only one was able to produce documentation of medical training and that is the doctor who was asked to assist the customer onboard. In addition, paramedics met the flight to assist the customer further.
Flight attendants are trained to collect information from medical volunteers offering to assist with an onboard medical emergency. When an individual’s medical identification isn’t available, they’re instructed to ask questions such as where medical training was received or whether an individual has a business card or other documentation and ultimately to use their best judgment.
Delta's commitment to diversity, inclusion and respect of all of our customers worldwide is rooted deeply in our company’s values and culture. As a global carrier with a diverse workforce, serving a diverse customer base, we are committed to treating all passengers with kindness and respect."
Cross’s Facebook page lists her as an alumnae of Meharry Medical College in Tennessee, one of the few places African Americans were able to seek medical training in the United States (Howard University in Washington, DC, and Morehouse College of Medicine in Atlanta are the other two). She is currently listed at LinkedIn as a resident physician-obstetrician and gynecologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.