Exclusive: White airline workers acted out slavery scenes from ‘Django Unchained’ in front of horrified Black staff, lawsuit claims

A baggage handler for an American Airlines subsidiary claims she and other employees of color were subjected to ongoing bigotry by white coworkers who, among other things, mocked the death of George Floyd , quoted racist lines from Django Unchained while wearing ersatz KKK hoods, and hung a noose in a luggage sorting area, according to a federal lawsuit reviewed by The Independent .

Niena Allen, who spent four years at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport working for Piedmont Airlines, a regional carrier owned by American that operates as American Eagle , alleges in her complaint that no disciplinary action was ever taken against the perpetrators, and that Black employees were punished for minor infractions and white employees were not.

The complaint says the “racially hostile work environment” caused Allen “emotional distress and fear for her safety,” and that those coworkers behind it “are still employed… at Sky Harbor, creating a racially hostile work environment.”

A spokesperson for Piedmont and American did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

Attorney Dan Raynak, who is representing Allen, declined to comment, citing active litigation.

Allen began working for Piedmont in 2021 as a ramp agent, according to the complaint . She died last June at the age of 42, but her lawsuit remains active via a representative for her estate.

The allegations included in Allen’s complaint first emerged in December 2025, when she initially filed suit in Arizona state court with multiple co-workers over the purported racism at Sky Harbor. They have now reemerged as Allen’s case has been split off from the others on administrative grounds and refiled August 12 in Phoenix federal court.

According to Allen, racism on the job was “tacitly and/or actively approved by, or at least tolerated by” Piedmont management.

One incident detailed in the complaint occurred in 2023, when a pair of white supervisors allegedly posted a photo on a bulletin board in the office hallway, of them “reenacting the murder” of George Floyd , a Black man who was choked to death by a white police officer in Minneapolis. His death sparked worldwide protests as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Several employees, including [Allen], made complaints… regarding the racially hostile and obscene photograph,” the complaint states. “As a result, the two (2) supervisors that were in the photograph were terminated.”

However, the complaint contends, a third supervisor who took and posted the picture was not reprimanded for his role, and subsequently promoted.

Early last year, one of Allen’s colleagues reported a white employee to management for allegedly helping white colleagues with lifting heavy luggage, but not Black ones, according to the complaint.

The manager – who was also white – said she was “aware” of what was going on in the oversize baggage area and advised the aggrieved employee to “just ignore it,” the complaint states.

A short time later, the complaint alleges a noose was found hanging in the oversize luggage area.