Some of the most meaningful conversations we have are by accident. A chat with a complete stranger can change your day or even your perspective. A black woman working as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines in 2020 had such an experience.
JacqueRae Hill went to work on May 30, 2020 with a heavy heart. She had been thinking and praying about the May 25 death of George Floyd. In a Facebook post detailing the incident, JacqueRae shared that she was struggling. As a flight attendant, she had to be present to provide her best customer service. Sadly, her heart just wasn't in it, and understandably so.
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While boarding passengers on the flight, JacqueRae noticed a white male passenger reading White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. She decided she would circle back to ask him about the book, which she had been planning to read. When she did, she engaged in a wonderful and nuanced conversation about race with the passenger. She had no idea that he was an airline CEO himself, American Airlines' Doug Parker.
JacqueRae Hill is a black woman who works as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines. On May 30, she headed to work with a heavy heart. Her mind was on the May 25 death of George Floyd and the aftermath as it was unfolding. She had to talk herself up to be prepared to be hospitable to customers.
"So my heart has been heavy as I'm sure most of you feel the same. I was on social media before preparing to go to work (terrible idea). As I was driving to work I had to really go to God with my thoughts because it would make it hard to smile with everything going on," JacqueRae shared in a Facebook post about the day's events.
"As we are boarding my first flight of the day I smile and I greet people when they come on and a man was holding a book that has been on my to read list. The book is entitled White Fragility. I was so happy to see that book in his grasp that I knew after I finished my duties I was going to make a point to ask him about it."
Later on, JacqueRae circled back to the passenger after finishing her duties. "I go sit next to him as he was sitting in a row all by himself (That was God)," she noted.
"I said 'Hey How are you? I see you are reading that book … So how is it?'"
"He replies 'oh I'm halfway through it's really good. It really points out how important these conversations on race are,'" she continued.
"As I began to respond the tears just start falling. I have been so sad every day and I just want to understand and be understood so we can began to fix it."
"I'm pretty sure I startled him by seemingly dumping all my emotions on him but his reply was 'I'm so sorry. And it's our fault that this is like this,'" she recalled.
"We continued to talk and when I tell you it was everything I needed. I was happy ( even tho I was crying ). I went on to tell him about my prayer on my way to work today and that he answered that prayer for me with this conversation."
"As our conversation came to an end he asks me my name. I told him JacqueRae and then he said 'well I'm Doug Parker the CEO of American Airlines,'" she revealed. Naturally, she was completely shocked.
"I told him my mother works for him in DC and then I reached over and gave him a BIG HUG ! I HAD TO!! (yes we were both masked) I thanked him for being open and allowing this conversation to happen because I just needed to hear it and I walked off."
"I thanked God for his LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS the rest of the Flight. On his way off the plane he hands me a handwritten note and I thank him again and ask for this pic," she shared.
"This encounter is Only A Holy Spirit thing!!!! There are so many different ways to affect change in the world. I stand with anyone who wants to make a difference no matter if it is how I would do it or not."
"I believe that God answered my prayer so perfectly that I want to be apart of an answered prayer for someone else," she concluded.
"I'm following behind my sister Audresha Lynn by saying LETS TALK !! Doug Parker said that the premise of the book is that we need to have these conversations so here I am. My heart is open and my ears are open as well. BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING."
Doug shared the experience with American Airlines employees in an email on Sunday. He ended up on the Southwest flight after there were no seats available on his own airline.
"I felt wholly inadequate but I knew it was a special moment," he wrote.
"The best I could do was tell her that the book talks about how white people are horrible at talking about racism, and that what we need are real conversations. She agreed. I told her I was trying to learn and through tears and a mask, she said, 'So am I.'"
Doug continued to explain how valuable he found their exchange to be. Before the flight ended, he found an email from JacqueRae's mother, thanking him for comforting her.
"I had done nothing, of course," he wrote of the email. "JacqueRae was the brave one. I was sitting comfortably in the back sending you guys emails without thinking twice about what this young woman — and others like her — were going through."
"These are trying times," he continued. "Our people are hurting. I'm not certain what all of the answers are, but I know it involves talking to each other. And listening. And it takes courage and leadership to start the conversation and to stand up for what is right. JacqueRae taught me all that."
JacqueRae and Doug's encounter sparked a conversation. Some people were a little skeptical about the coincidence. They wondered if it was just a setup for some positive press for both airlines related to the current news cycle.
Many are hopeful that this is just one of many tough conversations going on around the world. There's a lot of work to be done. It's beyond listening and learning. Action is totally necessary. While the world needs so much more, words are an important first step we all need to take.
