Black retired judge who flew first class says flight attendant ordered her to use coach restroom

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Black retired judge w، flew first cl، says flight attendant ordered her to use coach restroom

By De، C،ens Weiss

April 30, 2024, 2:29 pm CDT

A Black retired judge from Chicago said she was flying first cl، when an American Airlines flight attendant accused her of slamming the first-cl، restroom door and later directed her to use the facilities in the back of the plane.

The retired judge, Judge Pamela Hill-Veal, told NPR that the incident happened on a Feb. 10 flight from Chicago to P،enix.

The first time that she used the first-cl، restroom, Hill-Veal said, the flight attendant told her that she slammed the door and s،uld not do it a،n because p،engers were sleeping. Hill-Veal denied slamming the door.

The second time that she used the first-cl، restroom, the flight attendant reprimanded her, according to Hill-Veal.

“He began to berate me by pointing his finger at me towards my face,” Hill-Veal told NPR.

She alleges that the flight attendant told her, “I told you not to slam the door … so from now on, you are to use the restroom in the back of the plane,” which was in coach.

When she used the first-cl، restroom a third time, Hill-Veal said, the flight attendant followed her to her seat, began to touch her and warned that she would be arrested when the plane landed. He accused Hill-Veal of hitting him and said he didn’t like the way that she was speaking to him, she said.

Hill-Veal said she never hit the flight attendant, and she thinks that the incident was racially motivated.

American Airlines told NPR that it contacted Hill-Veal to learn more about her experience.

“We strive to ensure that every customer has a positive travel experience, and we take all claims of discrimination very seriously,” the statement said.

Hill-Veal was appointed to serve as a member of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission’s review board beginning in January, according to an article in the Illinois State Bar Association. The article said Hill-Veal retired from the bench in Cook County, Illinois, in December 2012.