Airline Asks Black Men to Take Off Their Hoodies in First Class While White Men Wore Same Outfits

Was it blatant racism or a simple misunderstanding that prevented two African American men from traveling in the first class cabin of U.S. Airways while wearing hoodies and jeans?

You decide.

Two black passengers, Miles and MacCraig Warren, are suing U.S. Airways for racial discrimination after an airline gate agent refused to allow them to travel in first class wearing hoodies and jeans.

The Warrens, who are brothers, were flying home from Denver to Los Angeles after a relative’s funeral last year when they were told that their attire was too casual, asked to remove their baseball caps, and change into button-down shirts, slacks and nicer shoes.

But here’s the catch: When the Warrens boarded the plane, they saw two passengers in first class – a white passenger, Michael Heffernan, and a Filipino passenger, Edward DeLeon, — wearing hoodies and jeans, the same clothing the Warrens were told not they couldn’t wear.

“They were told that this was the policy if you wanted to ride in first class,” lawyer Rodney Diggs told the New York Daily News. “They were very upset when they saw the other two gentlemen sitting right across from them. This is definitely racial discrimination and a violation of their civil rights.”

The Warrens filed a lawsuit in federal court last week, seeking punitive damages for discrimination and emotional distress. They called the experience “humiliating.”

“We welcome customers of all ethnicities and backgrounds and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We take these allegations seriously,” U.S. Airways said in a statement. “Employees are aware of the travel policy and required to understand the expectations when utilizing their pass privileges.”

U.S. Airways will likely make the case that the Warrens were traveling on a discounted “buddy pass” and subject to restricted dress codes for “buddy pass” travelers. Heffernan and DeLeon were full-fare paying passengers and, therefore, were not restricted to a dress code.

So why are there separate first-class travel policies for “buddy pass” passengers and full-fare paying passengers? Why can’t “buddy pass” passengers travel in casual attire? Is this a case of racial discriminaton? Or is it just a flawed U.S. Airways travel policy?

Diggs, meanwhile, said his clients were never informed that different policies applied to reduced fare and regular fare passengers.

“If this is a policy, it has to be practiced at all times and not just selectively implemented when they want it to be implemented,” said Diggs.

Still, the person who sold the Warrens the “buddy passes” — presumably a U.S. Airways employee — should have explained the dress code rules to the Warrens before they boarded the plane.

Several airline employees posted comments on ConsumerAffairs.com, a mix of arguments.

“As every airline employee knows, there is a very specific code for dress and behavior when traveling on a pass,” one commenter posted. “Sadly, the employee who was kind enough to offer the passes to these whiners will be the one paying the consequences.”

Hoodies have become a flashpoint for racial discrimination since the 2012 shooting of Travyon Martin, the 17-year-old black teenager from Sanford, Florida who was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Martin, who was black, was wearing a hoodie when Zimmerman claimed that Martin looked “suspicious.” Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense and his trial is set for June 10.

Just last week, a Florida police sergeant with the Port Canaveral Police Department was fired for conducting practice with targets resembling Trayvon Martin wearing a hoodie. Sgt. Ron King, who had been with the Port Canaveral police force for two years, was fired for using Martin’s image as target practice.

“Whether it was his stupidity or his hatred, (this is) not acceptable,” said Port Authority interim CEO Jim Walsh.

Walsh said it happened at a training exercise earlier this month. King was teaching a shooting course to other officers and allegedly had the posters in his patrol car.

Benjamin Crump, Trayvon Martin’s family attorney, released a statement saying, “It is absolutely reprehensible that a high-ranking member of the Port Canaveral Police, sworn to protect and serve Floridians, would use the image of a dead child as target practice.”

I met Sabrina and Tracy Martin, the mother and father of slain teenager Trayvon Martin, last week.

“We just want to do what’s right,” Tracy Martin told BlackAmericaWeb in an exclusive interview. “We just want to do the right thing.”

For Tracy Martin, the “right thing” is sharing a message that Trayvon was a victim, not the aggressor or a thug; that he was good son who was shot and killed by an overzealous, self-imposed neighborhood watch leader.

Tracy and Sabrina said they know the upcoming trial will take a lot of out of them, emotionally and psychologically, but they will endure, they explained, because they are seeking justice for their son.

“It’s very challenging,” Tracy Martin told me. “We have a long way to go.”

For many black men, hoodies, like the one Trayvon Martin was wearing, still invite trouble. Just ask Miles and MacCraig Warren.