I’m look white so you can ignore this but it did make me wonder what the most effective response would have been. How about when the lady said she didn’t want him sitting next to her he call a flight attendant and, at least loud enough for others to hear but not loud enough to sound like he’s shouting say something like “I’m sorry to bother you with this but for some reason this lady doesn’t want me sitting next to her. To make her more comfortable do you have another seat available?”
If he was lucky the flight attendant might have looked disapprovingly at the lady and then upgraded him to business class?
Guess I’m just being hopeful.