Black OB-GYN Says Delta Flight Attendant Wouldn’t Believe She’s a Doctor

Dr. Tamika Cross, a fourth-year resident OB-GYN, was aboard Delta flight 945 traveling from Detroit to Minneapolis on Sunday when a passenger two rows ahead became unconscious.

A flight attendant made an announcement asking if there was a doctor on board. Dr. Cross, a resident physician at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, volunteered to help. But the flight attendant eyed her suspiciously and asked to see credentials.

After the incident, Dr. Cross shared her experience on Facebook, where she wrote: “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.”

“[I’m an] 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. A ‘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.”

The sick passenger ultimately recovered, according to Dr. Cross.

In a statement to Travel + Leisure, Catherine Sirna, a spokesperson for Delta Air Lines said, “Discrimination of any kind is never acceptable. We’ve been in contact with Dr. Cross and one of our senior leaders is reaching out to assure her that we’re completing a full investigation.”

Read Dr. Cross’s original post below.

Credit: TRAVEL+LEISURE