FedEx Driver Says She's Not Allowed To Deliver To Certain Midwest Towns Because She's Black — 'This Is Crazy, It's 2024'
All her supervisors offer her is an apology.
Drazen Zigic | Shutterstock A Black FedEx driver recently opened up about the racism that she's experienced when delivering to certain parts of the United States.
In a since-deleted TikTok, content creator and delivery driver Trina admitted that she was taken aback by how her skin color was received in some Midwest towns.
The FedEx driver said she is prohibited from delivering packages in certain Midwest towns because she is Black.
"I've been with FedEx for 6 years now, and it just shocks me that in 2024 I'm still being told that there're certain towns that I can't deliver in," Trina confessed.
She explained that when she asked her supervisor why that was, she'd simply get an apology followed by the statement that "people are the way they are." Her supervisors claimed they didn't want to risk her safety by asking her to deliver in those parts of the country.
She recalled that when she first started working for the company in 2018, her supervisor informed her that she wasn't going to be assigned to delivering packages in Springfield, Illinois.
At first, Trina didn't think the problem was that serious until she had a late pickup in a nearby town.
With a few hours to spare, Trina went to a local Walmart and as soon as she stepped foot into the store, the contemptuous looks made her immediately turn around and walk out.
Andriy Blokhin | Shutterstock
Getting back into her truck, she drove to the town she'd been previously in and parked in an abandoned parking spot until it was time to leave.
This problem was not Illinois-specific. She has experienced the same issues in Wisconsin and cannot deliver certain routes because she is black.
She explained that her routes can't be in certain areas out of fear for her safety.
"It's not because I can't do that route," she clarified. "It's because of how people in that town act or how past drivers ... have been treated in that town [who are] the same color as me."
Drazen Zigic | Shutterstock
It's a disheartening and frustrating reality in our country. "This is crazy," Trina emphasized. "It's 2024."
According to a survey conducted by CBS, while Black Americans believe their opportunities to succeed in life are better than those in their parent's generation, most feel efforts to promote racial diversity and equality in the U.S. are not going far enough.
Black Americans are nearly unanimous in their view that racism remains a problem in the U.S. today, including three in four who call it a major problem.
The fact that sundown towns — which are all-white communities, neighborhoods, or counties that exclude Black people and other minorities through the use of discriminatory laws, harassment, threats, or use of violence — still exist should be enough for white people to realize that something needs to change. To exist in this country and not be seen as actual human beings is tiring, but frankly, this is not the Black community's fight to end. Rather, it's that of the people who benefit from the privilege of their skin color.
On top of that, companies like FedEx should be doing much more to protect their Black employees from being subjected to these levels of racism. Simply forbidding Trina to drive those routes and instead using only white drivers is not nearly enough. You can't combat racism and prejudice by being complicit and silent.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.