This week, the Los Angeles Urban League (LAUL) said it wants the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the rights of Black Americans and any Americans in general who wish to do business without the presence of racial bias.
In a press release, the organization said it believes that once racism is arguably present in a contract negotiation, it compromises the integrity of the entire negotiation and is a reasonable cause for an investigation.
READ MORE: Byron Allen calls out Comcast and Justice Dept. for “institutionalized racism” after new brief filed
L.A. Urban League officials say they are standing with both Entertainment Studios (TheGrio’s parent company) and its owner Byron Allen a legal case, now headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, revolving around the Civil Rights Act Of 1866 which outlaws the presence of racial bias in business contracts.
Comcast, which Allen suing in a racial discrimination case, was apparently buttressed by the Department of Justice, which recently petitioned the Supreme Court, with an amicus brief saying it wants Allen to prove that race was the singular motivating factor in his claim that Comcast is in violation of the statute.
“We cannot condone Comcast’s attempt to eviscerate this important civil rights statute in order to legitimize their refusal to enter into a contract with Mr. Allen. We stand in solidarity with Byron Allen and Entertainment Studios,” said Michael Lawson, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League. “Now it is time for us to act, to stand up and be counted and refuse to do business with any organization that supports the legalization of racism in any form.”
Officials at the NAACP has also said that it is watching developments in the case because of a movement to the right in the Trump Justice department. “What we’re doing now is very carefully and scrutinizing everything that’s attached to this case as it moves to that [November] date,” Hilary O. Shelton, NAACP Washington Bureau director told TheGrio recently.
L.A. Urban League officials say they will continue speaking out against policies that inhibit the growth of African American business and enterprise, according to the release.