Written by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton for Black Enterprise
Astute businessman and comedian Byron Allen has gained support in his ongoing court battle against Comcast from rapper and activist Michael “Killer Mike” Render and The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Both the outspoken hip-hop activist and civil rights group are urging black people to stand with Allen in his $20 billion racial discrimination lawsuit against Comcast, which will be heard in the Supreme Court Nov. 13. Allen also has a similar $10 billion suit against Charter Communications.
Byron filed the multi-billion suits back in 2015 and 2016, arguing that Comcast and Charter violated the Civil Rights Act after he unsuccessfully tried for years to get the cable systems to carry his networks, Entertainment Studios, which were available through rival distributors, including Verizon, Dish, and AT&T’s DirecTV. Both Comcast and Charter, however, assert that race was not a factor in their refusal to carry stations under Allen’s production company.
Read the entire Black Enterprise article.