NAACP Accusations Force American Airlines Anti-Racism Training Program

After meetings this month with the NAACP regarding accusations of racial discrimination on its flights, American Airlines announced on Thursday a plan to implement anti-racism training to its employees, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The company is set to enact a four-point plan to address concerns regarding allegations of racial insensitivity described by black passengers while on American Airlines flights. The NAACP met with the airlines at its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, a second meeting since the Baltimore chapter of the nationwide civil rights group spoke out.

"We viewed the feedback as an opportunity, our engagement with the NAACP and Tamika Mallory has led to conversations both with external organizations and our own team members that we may not have otherwise had," American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said in a statement.

"While we are proud of our longstanding commitment to equality and diversity, discrimination and implicit bias sometimes create outcomes that are less than ideal for many of our team members and customers," the statement continued. "We think corporate America can make a difference in diversity and inclusion and we at American want to be leaders in that regard."

Members of the NAACP met with American Airlines executives Oct. 31 to discuss a way to prevent further incidents of alleged discrimination that were pinned against the company.

"We had a full and frank dialogue, but words are no substitute for action," Johnson said. "The NAACP looks forward to continuing its work with American Airlines to ensure that African-American customers are not subjected to racially discriminatory treatment."

The action plan comes after the NAACP imposed a travel advisory in August, which warned black travelers against using the airlines.

"The NAACP for several months now has been monitoring a pattern of disturbing incidents reported by African-American passengers, specific to American Airlines," the NAACP said in a statement released Oct. 24. "In light of these confrontations, we have today taken the action of issuing national advisory alerting travelers—especially African Americans—to exercise caution, in that booking and boarding flights on American Airlines could subject them disrespectful, discriminatory or unsafe conditions."