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White Passenger Accused Black Artist of Not Having First-Class Ticket – And Was Swiftly Shut Down

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

A white train passenger questioned a Black singer-songwriter over her first-class ticket and she was shut down by not only the star but her daughter as well.

Jamelia, a British R&B star and model, explained what happened after she wrapped up a photo shoot and caught a train at London Euston station with her youngest daughter, Tiani. The 36-year-old posted a series of tweets on the matter Thursday, Jan. 12.

Jamelia later explained more about the situation on her blog.

“I need to say, at this point, this situation is far from unique,” the singer wrote. “Most of my train travel is first class, and I would estimate that at least 60 percent of the time, I experience this exchange with either another passenger or someone working for the train company. It’s irritating, embarrassing, but I, like many affluent, Black women, accept it as an annoying part of the space I occupy in society.”

Jamelia went on to explain she and her daughters, Tiani and Teja, recently had a conversation about institutionalized racism and the importance of speaking up about racist treatment.

“We decided that, from now on, we’re going to help people out,” Jamelia said. “We are going to be brave and tell them, ‘I don’t like that you did/said that.’ I was and am so proud of the bravery my daughter displayed. Yes, she is being taught to respect her elders, but she is also being taught to effectively communicate her genuine feelings, no matter who it may be.”

The singer also addressed criticism over her pulling the race card.

“I also received tweets asking why I felt the need to tweet about it, why didn’t I just keep it to myself, I have a chip on my shoulder, I’m attention seeking and [I’m] ‘always playing the race card,'” Jamelia wrote. “If I was to tweet every single racist incident that happened to me as it happened, you would be on the floor.

“The problem is that we don’t tell you, we speak about it amongst ourselves and you get to carry on about your day not realizing you’ve ruined ours,” she continued. “I tweeted because I wanted you to read it. I wanted you to be aware of this happening. I wanted you to know that even if you have these thoughts in your head, it’s not OK to say it aloud.”

The singer concluded that she would not allow her daughters to remain silent on racism in any situation, adding everyone should be “brave enough to put these important conversations on the table now.”

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