A Delta flight attendant refused Dr. Tamika Cross’ help during a flight while searching for a doctor on a to treat an unresponsive man by telling her they were searching for “actual physicians.” Dr. Cross is an OBGYN resident at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Houston. She detailed the run-in on her Facebook page.
While assessing the unresponsive man’s situation, a flight attendant first said “Everyone stay calm, it’s just a night terror, he is alright.” Then, several flight attendants said into their pagers, “Any physician on board, please press your button.” Seeing Dr. Cross press her button, the flight attendant says, “Oh wow, you’re an actual physician?” Dr. Cross replied, “Yes.” The attendant then proceeded to ask her a series of questions. “What type of Doctor are you? Where do you work? Why were you in Detroit?” After Cross answers her questions, a white male approaches the row and says he is a physician as well. The flight attendant says to Cross, “Thanks for your help, but he can help us, and he has his credentials”. According to Cross, the man did not show any credentials.
After the man’s condition improved, the flight attendant came and apologized to Cross several times and offered her Delta Skymiles. Cross refused. On her Facebook post she said, “This is going higher than her. I don’t want skymiles in exchange for blatant discrimination.”
“I’m sure many of my fellow young, corporate America working women of color can all understand my frustration when I say I’m sick of being disrespected.” Fellow black women doctors supported Dr. Cross with the #ThisisWhataDoctorLooksLike hashtag on social media and are fighting the subtle discrimination they face through stories and pictures in their medical professional uniforms. The popularity of the hashtag on Facebook and Twitter has let the world know they’ve worked hard for the title of “Doctor.”
Similar to other viral hashtag campaigns like #StayMadAbby and #IfTheyGunnedMeDown, #ThisisWhatADoctorLooksLike challenges stereotypical depictions of black people by showing their successes and achievements.
Delta Airlines is currently investigating the incident.