RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The architect of the progressive movement known as “Moral Monday” said he was removed from an American Airlines flight after he responded to a passenger who made disparaging remarks.
The Rev. William Barber said in a statement he was removed Friday from a flight from Washington Reagan to Raleigh-Durham.
A nearby passenger said loudly that he had problems with “those people” and criticized Barber’s need to purchase two airline seats for himself, said Barber, who is also president of the state chapter of the NAACP.
Before the crew gave safety instructions, he said he stood up and turned around to respond. An arthritic condition prevented him from turning around in his seat to address the other passenger, Barber said.
A crew member apparently called police, who came on the plane and asked Barber to leave, he said.
“The American Airlines team at the desk was very gracious,” Barber said. “Many said they were concerned and some said they did not agree with the decision.”
American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said Sunday that a passenger who didn’t follow crew instructions was removed from a flight. He said the passenger also grabbed a flight attendant but was allowed to travel the next morning on an American flight.
When asked why a passenger who grabbed a flight attendant would be allowed on another plane, Miller said “each situation is unique. It was a cordial situation beyond that one incident so there was no further concern from our perspective.”
Barber said he had traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak at a national interfaith event that launched the 2016 Ecumenical Advocacy Days.
” … I am not at all happy about what I believe were the real reasons I was the one asked to leave,” Barber said, adding that he has turned the matter over to attorneys.
The flight arrived at RDU shortly before midnight, about 40 minutes late, Miller said.
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Martha Waggoner can be reached at http://twitter.com/mjwaggonernc. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/martha-waggoner
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Why couldn’t AA throw out the racist evil doer instead of a Great Leader such as, Rev. Barber?
Hope his lawyer will approach this case with the vigor it deserves.
And if Barber had purchased only one seat who thinks the racist asshole would have complained about that?
One of these days Back people, Hispanics, Muslims and atheists will come to realize they’re just not welcome in the United States and get the hell out. Until then various forms of mistreatment, discrimination, police executions and shunning will have to continue. It’s the American Way (insert Hallelujah Chorus here).
Keep the nut on the plane???
Remove… the guy… with the freaking… problem! Jeez Louise.
An interesting situation that’s a lot he said he said. As a big black guy that does a lot of things that motivate a lot of racist white folks to talk shit to him every chance they get, I’m sure that like all of us he sometimes responds back rudely to the person that finally tips the bucket. And also like all of us, what’s an ok response to us might not be to the other person or a lot of the folks around that person. So it may have been easier to only delay one person who was a part of the conflict as opposed to a lot of other passengers that may not have been part of the conflict but were disturbed by it. Where are all the cell phone videos?