Mom rants about 'racist' train experience with her young daughter
Earlier this week, a British singer took to Twitter to share details of a racist incident on a train.
Jamelia, a popular singer in the UK, was traveling with her 11-year-old daughter in first class. A white woman, however, asked her is she had a first class ticket -- implying that she was lying by sitting in the section.
I ask "why have you assumed I don't have a 1st class ticket?" She says "well, have you got one?" I reply "have you?" She says "yes I have"
— Jamelia.com 💫 (@Jamelia) January 12, 2017
They went back and forth, with the woman claiming that she would ask anyone sitting with her if they had a first class ticket. Jamelia called her out on her racism:
I laugh, and say "let's be honest, you've asked me because I look like young black girl & you've allowed your prejudice to speak for you"
— Jamelia.com 💫 (@Jamelia) January 12, 2017
Jamelia and her daughter moved to another seat. When a white man took their place, the woman didn't say anything. Jamielia's daughter had an impassioned reaction:
My daughter looks over at the lady and says "Are you not going to ask him for his credentials then?" The lady turned as red as a beetroot.
— Jamelia.com 💫 (@Jamelia) January 12, 2017
For anyone who didn't believe her, Jamelia shared a photo of her tickets -- which were indeed first class:
My daughter looks over at the lady and says "Are you not going to ask him for his credentials then?" The lady turned as red as a beetroot.
— Jamelia.com 💫 (@Jamelia) January 12, 2017
She also couldn't resist sharing a photo of her daughter on the train:
This is earlier...but hella appropriate 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/bbhiugkGnB
— Jamelia.com 💫 (@Jamelia) January 12, 2017
Read through the whole story
The mother's tweets went viral and gained attention from several news outlets. When she was asked to be interviewed, Jamelia decided to write a blog post about what happened.
She discussed the response she received from her tweets. "What struck me, were the wave of comments I received ... first of all those in response to my tweets, the shock and horror that this could happen," she wrote.
Unfortunately, though, Jamelia said that this is not a rare occurrence. "Most of my train travel is first class, and I would estimate that at least 60% of the time," she noted, "I experience this exchange with either another passenger or someone working for the train company."
She also, however, made a point to discuss the support she's received from sharing the story. Jamelia vowed to keep sharing. "We serve no-one by remaining quiet," she wrote, "if anything this renders us complicit in the continuation and validation of this behavior."