A local Minneapolis woman is applauding Delta Airlines taking a stance against racism and discrimination.
Last week, 25-year-old Demetria Poe took a flight from Minneapolis to Washington D.C. to attend the Commitment March. On her flight, she was berated by a Karen, who switched her American flag facemask for a Blue Lives Matter facemask when Poe took her seat next to the woman.
“That woman was trying to entice me into an argument because there was no need for her to flip that mask in my presence,” Poe told USA Today. “She didn’t do it for anyone else. It was as if she was making a statement and wanted me to know.”
Poe shared her experience in a Facebook post that went viral on Tuesday.
“I feel like in that situation they do want to see a Black woman get angry,” Poe said in a Facebook post. She said that the woman initiated the conversation saying, “I support blue lives because I support our officers.” Poe said that she told the woman that “blue lives do not exist,” and that “The life of an officer exists, but there is no such thing as a blue life and that statement is nothing but a rebuttal to the fact that BLM has been disregarded time after time.”
Poe said that tried to further explain to the lady that the saying “Black Lives Matter” does not mean that other lives do not matter. “We are saying if all lives matter, ‘Why is it justifiable for anyone to slaughter Black people?”
The woman went on to spew inflammatory remarks about the death of George Floyd, saying that he died from drugs and not suffocation. Other passengers then came to Poe’s defense and the lady was relocated.
“I felt the genuine and sincere concern the flight attendants had for me and the people around me,” Poe said. “I was shocked. I was happy, but I was still fearful. Living in Minnesota, I have seen how things get blown up. I just really wanted to get off the flight.”
After the flight, attendants told Poe that the lady harassing her would never be allowed on another Delta flight because the company does not “stand for racism and discrimination.”
The post caught the attention of Delta Airlines and replied to Demetria’s post, saying “When we say Black lives matter, we mean it. You matter to us, Demetria.” When Demetria returned to the airport for the flight home, they surprised her a goodie bag including a Black Lives Matter pin, and upgraded her seat for her return to Minneapolis.
“This is a major corporation saying that Black lives matter,” Poe stated. “It was very heartwarming. I cried because I look at God using me for the movement,” she added.
