Civil rights organizations come out against Comcast

A coalition of civil rights organizations this week accused Comcast of undermining Reconstruction-era protections against racial discrimination, weighing in on a lawsuit against the company that is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Comedian and media mogul Byron Allen is suing the cable television provider for $20 billion under an 1866 law ensuring newly freed African-Americans the same right to enter into contracts as any white citizen. The case is scheduled to be heard on Nov. 13.

Allen, who is black, alleges that Comcast discriminated against him in its refusal to carry cable channels by his company, Entertainment Studios Networks. Comcast said it made a business decision to reject Allen’s general-interest channels based on what it thought viewers want.

The question before the court is whether, as Comcast contends, Allen must show that race was the sole motivating factor informing Comcast’s decision to reject his channels.

A victory for Comcast could make it harder for victims of discrimination to sue employers, landlords and other businesses using the measure, said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. It could force victims to prove that racial discrimination was the sole factor in any disputed contracting decision, she said.

“There’s a whole lot at stake in this case. It’s much bigger than Comcast and Allen,” Clarke said. “This is about real victims of discrimination who should not face additional hurdles in getting the opportunity to be heard in court. The implications for African-Americans and other marginalized communities of color are grave.”

The Lawyers’ Committee and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed separate briefs this week in support of Allen — but did not take a position on the merits of his claims. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the NAACP were among the more than two dozen signatories.

Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 guarantees Americans equal opportunities to work, bank, shop, rent or buy a home, and become entrepreneurs free from racial discrimination. It protects a broad swath of people, including independent contractors in the gig economy and consumers racially profiled by retailers, in scenarios not covered by other major civil rights statutes.

A Supreme Court ruling in favor of Comcast would “cut the heart out of this bedrock statute,” said Clarke, calling it the most important civil rights case to be heard by the court this term.

The Trump administration has filed a brief in support of Comcast, saying the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit erred in deciding that a plaintiff could win by showing that race was just one factor in a decision not to enter into a contract.