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Today on the popular morning radio show The Breakfast Club, media mogul Byron Allen sounded the alarm on an attack of the Civil Rights Act of 1866–the original civil rights act, which protected newly freed slaves by ensuring fair government and commercial contracting.
Allen, who is CEO of Entertainment Studios (parent company of The Weather Channel and theGrio), recently sued Comcast in a $20B civil rights lawsuit. Allen had appealed to the 9th Circuit using the Civil Rights Act of 1866 against Comcast’s disproportionate funding of black networks.
“The industry spends billion[s] a year licensing cable networks… while African-American owned media gets zero, and that’s not fair,” Allen told hosts Angela Yee, Charlamagne Tha God, and DJ Envy.
READ MORE: Various civil rights organizations criticize Comcast move in discrimination case
When the 9th Circuit upheld Allen’s appeal twice, Comcast took the case to the Supreme Court, making a legal argument that threatened the very purpose of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
That argument looks to interpret the law so that it can only be used if racial discrimination is 100% of the reason that a business is being discriminatory. If even 1% of the discrimination is perceived to have come from a non-racial standpoint, then businesses will not necessarily be held accountable for “mostly” racist practices.
Multiple civil rights organizations have voiced their support in an amicus brief, including the NAACP, the National Urban League, Color of Change, and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).
Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus, an organization co-founded in 1971 by the legendary late Congressman John Conyers Jr. (Michigan) and other elected Black officials to advocate for shared political interests, have signed the amicus brief defending the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
According to Deadline, among those who have lent their voice in the protest include presidential candidates and Senators Kamala Harris (California) and Cory Booker (New Jersey), and representatives Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts), Karen Bass (California), and Joyce Beatty (Ohio). Non-CBC members such as Senators Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut) and Ron Wyden (Oregon) have also signed the brief as well.
“As members of Congress, amici have a strong interest in ensuring that the laws Congress has passed are interpreted in a manner that is consistent with their text, history, and Congress’s plan in passing them,” says the brief filed by The CBC. “…The statute at issue in this case—42 U.S.C. § 1981—was passed immediately after the Civil War as part of a broader effort to ensure that the newly freed slaves enjoyed the same rights as other citizens.”
The brief continued, “This Court should not rewrite Section 1981 and disturb the vital protections that Congress passed that statute to provide.”
While the Congressional Black Caucus is incredibly large and wide-ranging Allen noted that it includes members who did not sign the brief such as Representatives Maxine Waters (California), John Lewis (Georgia), and Ilhan Omar (Minnesota). He then issued a call-to-action to Black Americans to hold the CBC members who did not sign the brief accountable by contacting their offices directly.
The remaining membership includes:
Alma Adams (North Carolina)
Colin Allred (Texas)
Sanford Bishop (Georgia)
Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware)
Anthony Brow (Maryland)
G.K. Butterfield (North Carolina)
Andre Carson (Indiana)
William Lacy Clay Jr. ( Missouri)
Emanuel Cleaver (Missouri)
Jim Clyburn (South Carolina)
Danny Davis (Illinois)
Antonio Delgado (New York)
Val Demings (Florida)
Dwight Evans (Pennsylvania)
Marcia Fudge (Ohio)
Al Green (Texas)
Alcee Hastings (Florida)
Jahana Hayes (Connecticut)
Steven Horsford (Nevada)
Hakeem Jeffries (New York)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas)
Hank Johnson (Georgia)
Robin Kelly (Illinois)
Brenda Lawrence (Michigan)
Al Lawson (Florida)
Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas)
Lucy McBath (Georgia)
Donald McEachin (Virgina)
Gregory Meeks (New York)
Gwen Moore (Wisconsin)
Joe Neguse (Colorado)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C)
Stacey Plaskett (Virgin Islands)
Cedric Richmond (Louisiana)
Bobby Rush (Illinois)
David Scott (Georgia)
Terri Sewell (Alabama)
Bennie Thompson (Mississippi)
Lauren Underwood (Illinois)
Marc Veasey (Texas)
Frederica Wilson (Florida)
Editor’s Note: theGrio is owned by Entertainment Studios.
