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The Supreme Court showdown between Black media mogul Byron Allen and Comcast is arguably the biggest civil rights case in the country right now.
Allen, CEO of Entertainment Studios, is suing Comcast and Charter Communications for $20 billion dollars over racial discrimination, claiming that the companies wouldn’t carry his networks or even meet with him, because Entertainment Studios is a minority-owned company.
Allen alleges the networks were specifically in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which prohibits racial discrimination in contracting.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, and if Allen wins it would be a major victory for Black-owned companies and Black media.
So why aren’t more people talking about what’s at stake?
Lawyer and political commentator Antonio Moore, dropped a must-see message about the case that’s started to go viral, for the way it exposes how political interests are keeping people quiet and scared to challenge the powers that be.
“We need to have the discussion,” states Moore. “This is one of the biggest lawsuits in Black history and nobody is talking about it.”
“We’re here for ownership. We’re here to demand that we get access. We need the tools that allow us to actually make claims. There is no Black business, because they’re not doing business with us.”
Last week the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief saying Allen needed to prove race was the singular motivating factor in his claims against Comcast and Charter. The demand creates yet another legal hurdle for Allen to clear in order to hold the cable giants accountable.
“This is historic,” says Allen. “Donald Trump’s DOJ and Comcast are working together to destroy a civil rights statute in the U.S. Supreme Court.”
“You have one of the biggest media companies in the world, which has been beating up Donald Trump for racism, and now they are saying we will work together to maintain institutionalized racism in America, in this Amicus Brief they delivered last Thursday.”
Watch the full video below and hit us up in the comments with your thoughts. Why are people being silent? And what will it take to motivate people to action?
theGrio is owned by Entertainment Studios.