The media giant Comcast touts diversity and inclusion as “a central element of our credo and our DNA.” So why is it asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hollow out a 153-year-old law against racial discrimination?
Discrimination lies at the heart of this racial inequality. It persists in employment, where black people without criminal records are less likely to get job callbacks than white applicants with them; in banking, where black entrepreneurs have a harder time getting financing ; in restaurant service, where black customers have the police called on them or are forced to prepay for their food; and in housing, where renters of color are turned away from available units and must contend with #AirbnbWhileBlack.
We will never root out pervasive bias without strong legal protections. The Supreme Court should rule against Comcast. If it does not, the public must demand that Congress quickly restore the 1866 Act.