Rev. Bernice King, daughter of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King was the keynote speaker at the 7th Annual Stateswomen for Justice Luncheon and Issues Forum held March 31, 2017 at the National Press Club in Northwest. (Photo by Lateef Mangum)
**FILE** Rev. Bernice King, daughter of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King was the keynote speaker at the 7th Annual Stateswomen for Justice Luncheon and Issues Forum held March 31, 2017 at the National Press Club in Northwest. (Photo by Lateef Mangum)

The Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., has forwarded a critical letter to Comcast executives accusing the cable conglomerate of trying to “dismantle” a law barring racial discrimination.

In her letter released Nov. 9, King alludes to a $20 billion lawsuit from comedian and media mogul Byron Allen, for which arguments are slated to be heard this week in Supreme Court.

King reasoned that if Comcast wins, “pivotal” anti-discrimination legislation could be compromised.

“Are you prepared to say business decisions based on racism are acceptable if combined with other non-racist reasons?” King wrote to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.

“This case cannot detract from Comcast’s strong civil rights and diversity record or our outstanding record of supporting and fostering diverse programming from African American-owned channels,” Comcast responded. “There has been no finding of discriminatory conduct by Comcast against this plaintiff by any court, and there has been none.”

Although a lower court ruled in favor of Allen, who contends Comcast declined to distribute his channels because he’s Black, the cable company said its decision not to carry Allen’s channels has nothing to do with race, but that his content lacks in “high quality.”

This correspondent is a guest contributor to The Washington Informer.

Join the Conversation

1 Comment

  1. Actually, it’s not about content being high quality. These people don’t understands Revolt and Aspire are not growing because they’re not receiving subscribers fees to pay for professional production and talent.
    Guy….these companies feared African Americans and minorities including Latino TV networks having competitive companies.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *