Last Sunday Dr. Tamika Cross shared on Facebook an account of being side-lined by a Delta Airlines flight attendant who refused to believe that Dr. Cross was a doctor. Dr. Cross was on a flight where a passenger became unresponsive. When the airline paged for a doctor and Dr. Cross raised her hand, she was told by the flight attendant: “oh no sweetie put your hand down, we are looking for actual physicians or nurses or some type of medical personnel, we don’t have time to talk to you.”
This experience, as Dr. Cross noted in her post, is one that many “young, corporate American working women of color” can understand and relate to.
Soon after she shared her story it went viral, and it led to a trending hashtag from other black doctors: #WhatBlackDoctorsLookLike and #WhatDoctorsLookLike
It’s an epic takedown of discrimination and disrespect that is so commonly experienced by doctors of color, and particularly black doctors. Here are some of the amazing tweets:
In support of my sister, Dr Tamika Cross. Please stand up and show them #whatdoctorslooklike @Delta pic.twitter.com/wwsIRZ6x7u
— Erika Adams Newman (@IamDrErika) October 14, 2016
Slaying gal, even with scrubs and newborn! Slay DocT! swagRT @drtlaleng: #WhatADoctorLooksLike pic.twitter.com/0anp7yiLqB
— Mphankomo! (@NcebaBolani) October 14, 2016
#WhatADoctorLooksLike pic.twitter.com/gZYQ797af2
— Dr T (@drtlaleng) October 14, 2016
#WhatADoctorLooksLike pic.twitter.com/QnFYVlQORp
— Dr T (@drtlaleng) October 14, 2016
I've been asked if my husband gave me permission to use his bank card because card says Dr…. #WhatADoctorLooksLike pic.twitter.com/ldCu9Gm5Kl
— Dr T (@drtlaleng) October 14, 2016
#WhatDoctorsLookLike pic.twitter.com/XCfCS98Doc
— Carlos Pottinger MD (@MdPottinger) October 15, 2016
I am proud to be a link in the chain of black doctors everywhere, always #WhatBlackDoctorsLookLike pic.twitter.com/CwvLplxZoh
— Lynne Diggs (@lyndiggs) October 15, 2016
Big, Natural hair with degrees are #WhatBlackDoctorsLookLike 📚 pic.twitter.com/MQhuvH3mmO
— Jane Carter (@janecarter) October 15, 2016
#WhataDoctorLooksLike
No I'm not a nurse, central supply, dietary, CNA…I'm your OBSTETRICIAN GYNECOLOGIST. #BlackGirlMagic pic.twitter.com/KsQV5lofSH— S. Gordon (@DrSanlare) October 14, 2016
Hmmmm…@Delta may actually try to use @google instead of a doctor⁉️#ilooklikearolemodel #Whatadoctorlookslike #ImwithDrTamikaCross pic.twitter.com/pPTQYlNljm
— Toni A. Haley, MD (@FitDoc4Life) October 14, 2016
This is what 2.5 doctors look like! 😝 Me (med student) and my 2 sisters (doctor & surgeon)#WhatADoctorLooksLike#TamikaCross pic.twitter.com/oDxMPEPcvz
— Fim (@jfs_a) October 14, 2016
@DeltaAirlines FYI This IS what a doctor looks like!#WhataDoctorLooksLike#ImwithDrCrosshttps://t.co/YO7edxyTmw pic.twitter.com/WxigEF220v
— Dr Terri (@drterrimd) October 13, 2016
Excuse me, @Delta, This is #Whatadoctorlookslike#RxForLife pic.twitter.com/1oirByTLq1
— Crystal Moore MD/PhD (@drcrystalamoore) October 13, 2016
The hashtags are still trending, but already they have demonstrated that so many black doctors relate completely to Dr. Cross’s experience. Delta Airlines has issued an apology for the incident.
