TITLE OF ARTICLE :

DEMANDING THE IMPOSSIBLE: DEMANDING THE IMPOSSIBLE: National Association of African American Owned Media V. Comcast CORP and The Future of Contractual Discrimination Cases Under The Civil Rights Act of 1866

AUTHOR(S) OF ARTICLE: Lynn E. Roberts III

The United States of America has a nuanced history replete with contradictions. At its inception, the United States of America proclaimed to the world that America stood for liberty and justice for all. The United States of America guarantees its citizens the right to be free to practice the religion of one’s choosing, freedom from search and seizure without probable cause, and in the event that one is brought before a judicial body on criminal charges, the right to due process of law. Going further, the United States of America offers a trial with freedom from self-incrimination, the right to confront witnesses against you, and most importantly, the presumption of innocence until the entry of a guilty verdict, by an impartial tribunal or jury of one’s peers, beyond a reasonable doubt. Additionally, the United States of America guarantees its citizens the right to make and enforce contracts regardless of race.

Although publicly aiming to meet these archetypes, hypocritically, America’s favorite pastime is a continuous onslaught of brutality, oppression, and denaturalization of the descendants of freedmen. The United States of America has exercised complete control over the destiny of freedmen, from determining where he may lay down roots, to control what is known about his history, image, and collective narrative. The results have been catastrophic: the illusion of economic inclusion, leading to a universally accepted finding that the average Blackfamily’s net worth is projected to approach zero dollars by 2050 as compared to nearly all other ethnic groups. The continuing mutation of chattel slavery, as sanctioned by the  United States government into the creation of privatized prisons owes its existence to former Senator and Vice President Joseph R. Biden’s 1994 Crime Bill.

This article explores the history of the Civil Rights Act of1866, as well as the body of case law that has shaped Section1981as we knew it prior to the current case. In addition, this article offers an analysis of the Comcast v. NAAAOM decision by the Supreme Court of the United States of America and a perspective on the ramifications of this decision on the viability of future Section1981 contract enforcement cases.