The MTA is under fire after a Black Muslim woman said ticket agents explicitly refused to help her and threw change at her because of her religion.
Leitoya Dixon was trying to catch a Long Island Railroad train home from Penn Station late on May 7 when two ticket agents began to harass her because of her hijab and treat her poorly.
The ticket agents were slow to hand her the ticket she paid for, and when she asked one of them what gate to go to, they refused to tell her.
“I don’t answer questions from people who look like you,” one of the agents said according to Dixon. One of the agents then threw Dixon's change at her.
“I am an unapologetically proud African American Muslim woman who wears a hijab,” the 35-year-old told The New York Daily News on Wednesday. “Still, it took time to feel that same pride after I was humiliated and denied service by MTA during Ramadan, my holy month."
Dixon has filed a complaint with the New York City Human Rights Commission and says she initially tried to tell the MTA what happened but was ignored.
Leitoya Dixon, an African-American Muslim who wears a hijab, said LIRR workers refused to help her find her train.
“I don’t answer questions from people who look like you,” one of the agents told her, according to the complaint.https://t.co/1TlAsQxE7f
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 30, 2019
She is calling for an official apology from the MTA and wants both ticket agents involved in the situation to be fired, according to her complaint.
Due to the political climate, Dixon said she was becoming more and more afraid of wearing her hijab in public.
"The promise of America is one of freedom and equality for all people, including me, but that seems to be lost on the MTA," she said. "I am a woman, a mother, and a human being who just wants to make it home to her family like everyone else.”
The MTA has released a statement condemning the actions of the two ticket agents and apologizing to Dixon.
“This allegation, if true, is repugnant and we immediately launched an investigation as the conduct does not align with the values of the MTA or New York,” LIRR spokeswoman Liz Gutierrez said in a statement. “Our employees are trained to treat all customers equally and with the utmost respect and professionalism.”
According to Gutierrez, the MTA has opened an investigation into the incident. Activists told The New York Daily News that it was not enough to just condemn what happened to Dixon: action needed to be taken to address systemic issues that allow things like this to happen.
“We are grateful that Ms. Dixon had the courage to stand up against the discrimination she experienced, and now it is up to us and the Commission to hold the MTA accountable and ensure that it does not sweep Ms. Dixon’s complaint under the rug,” said Princess Masilungan, legal fellow with the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
