R&B Artist Kelly Price experienced an unfortunate ordeal this past weekend while boarding a scheduled flight on United Airlines.
The singer has filed a petition on Change.org alleging racism by a United Airlines agent in Houston named “Stephanie” who told her go to the back of the coach passengers line. Price booked premier and first class.
Price took to Twitter to inform followers the treatment she was given.
“STEPHANIE from United Airlines in HOUSTON TEXAS is the NASTIEST AGENT IVE EVER COME ACROSS IN MY LIFE!!!” she wrote. “She refused me service today because I refused to get in the back of the other line. She sd the line I was in was premier and 1st class only.”
Price alleges “Stephanie” ignored her and helped a “non black man” board the flight. Price believes she was “profiled” and refused service because she wouldn’t get to the back of the line.
Price asked “Stephanie” for a supervisor, but she was unable to provide her the number.
The change.org petition titled “Demand United Airline Treat All Passengers Fairly” addresses the profiling of passengers. In her petition, she writes:
Profiling passengers is a common thing with air travel. The world has changed and traveling has not been the same since 9-11. The discomfort and sometimes annoying process of getting from here to there is a cross we all bear in this country to insure the safety of all Americans when we travel by airplane. Unfortunately, some use this as a bullying tool. On Saturday June 23, 2012 I was bullied by Stephanie a United Airlines employee when she assumed I was not a first class passenger and refused me service at the Customer Service/Rebooking counter in Houston. Even once she realized she was wrong she still ignored me and refused to help me. Her co-workers also ignored me. When I asked to see her name on her badge she hid it and began to a=scream out loud that I was harrassing her in an attempt to have security come an remove me. I am not a terrorist. I am not a criminal. Had Stephanie (The United Airlines Employee) been successful in her attempt to have me removed I would have likely been arrested and certainly not allowed to travel that day. As American citizens we are entitled to each have the same civil liberties and basic rights. I want United Airlines to have mandatory Cultural Diversity and Tolerance training for ALL employees of their company. I want United Airlines to implement better checks and balances that insure their employees CANNOT misuse their “authority” with customers and passengers. I want a United policy that demands the immediate termination of a United Airlines employee who discriminates or violates the civil and/or consumer rights of a customer/passenger in either of these manners.Classist, Racist practices hidden in corporate code cannot be tolerated. If we don’t speak out this will never change.
Price’s petition has nearly 1,400 signatures thus far. Price even posted the ordeal on her Facebook page.
Price believes the incident was a violation of her civil rights.
According to Price’s Twitter account, she wrote “Thank God for a non celebrity Rosa Parks who decided that she shouldn’t have be inferior to another race or class of people either.”
“Thank GOD for a non celebrity Baptist minister name Martin Luther King who spoke loud enough to make change for me and ALL minority ppl,” she tweeted.
Check out Price’s Complaint on Facebook by clicking here.
Check out Price’s Twitter page view her rant on United Airlines by Clicking here.
To sign Price’s Change.org online petition, click here.
OMG i hope she gets everything resolved w/ this. So unfortunate