This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
A Black flight attendant gave the white male better service
Part 1: Are You REALLY Sitting In The FRONT?
I’ve been traveling quite a bit lately, and an odd situation occurred on one of my recent flights.
As I entered the plane, I opened the bin above my row to place my carry-on bag.
But as I was doing so, the flight attendant first asked me,
“Excuse me, ma’am, are you sitting here?”
For some reason, she was in disbelief I was sitting so far up front of the plane.
She then followed up by ordering me to put my carry-on bag in a different bin that was rows behind where I was sitting.
I asked why, and she told me she needed to save space for the rows in front of me.
However, there was only one row in front of me since I was sitting in row 2.
This is only the beginning.
Part 2: White Privilege
As I sat down, a white guy came to sit in my row. The black flight attendant told him he could put his bag in the bin above us and helped him do so.
I then approached the flight attendant and asked why this was the case, and she said if there was any room left over, I could place my bag in the bin above me.
As the flight continued loading up the passengers, nobody placed their bags in the bins above us…
What did I do?
I got my small bag and moved it into the bin right above me.
Shortly after I did that, the black flight attendant returned to me and apologized, saying, “I’m sorry you can’t put your bag in the bin above you, but you can have some free snacks.”
She was unaware I had already moved my bag into the bin above me.
I thought, “well, I already moved my bag, and I don’t care about free snacks.” I responded, “okay.”
Why Did She Treat The White Man Better?
Sometimes, we (the black community) perpetuate white privilege by automatically giving it to white people more than people from our community.
How can we expect others to treat us better if we don’t even treat ourselves well?
I paid for the same seat and row as the white male did.
I caused no trouble on the plane.
I only had one small bag to put in the bin above me.
Why show courtesy and extra attention to the white male who required no additional assistance and immediately chastise me for putting my bag in the bin above me?
These are things I simply don’t understand. Can we treat everyone equally?
Why don’t Black people support their own more often?
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.