M&S Civil Rights Attorney Retired Federal Judge U.W. Clemon Applauds Introduction of Legislation Revitalizing Section 1981
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 15, 2023
CONTACT: Aurora Matthews
aurora@newheightscommunications.com
M&S Civil Rights Attorney Retired Federal Judge U.W. Clemon Applauds Introduction of Legislation Revitalizing Section 1981
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 15, 2023) — The following is a statement from retired federal judge U.W. Clemon, a civil rights attorney at Mehri & Skalet and a co-author of ‘The Nation’s First Civil Rights Law Needs to Be Fixed,’ an essay featured in the August 2020 issue of The Atlantic, in reaction to the introduction of ‘The Economic Inclusion Civil Rights Act of 2023’ today in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate by co-lead Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) and co-lead Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Glenn F. Ivey (D-MD). The full list of cosigners is below the statement.
“Section 1981, our nation’s oldest federal civil rights law, can and should provide a tool to combat discrimination and inequalities in the economy. But it can’t and won’t unless it’s modernized. That’s what ‘The Economic Inclusion Civil Rights Act of 2023’ would do.
“The central problem is that the law, as currently interpreted, is too narrow and fails to protect activities like the right to shop, eat out, cash a check, make a withdrawal, or apply for credit free from racial harassment. This means that many of the appallingly common experiences of being discriminated against for doing such things ‘while Black’ are not redressable under Section 1981.
“In 1866, Section 1981 legislated, for the first time, that citizenship belongs to persons ‘of every race and color’ and that all citizens ‘shall have’ the ‘same’ right ‘to make and enforce contracts’ and to ‘the full and equal benefit of all laws … as is enjoyed by white citizens.’ But that’s not the way things have turned out. More than 150 years later, Section 1981’s promise remains unfulfilled.
“With this Congressional action, a revitalized Section 1981 could become an invaluable tool for addressing structural racism. More victims of discrimination would have standing to sue, they could prevail by proving unjustifiable racist, disparate impact, without invidious intent, and Section 1981 would be violated when race is ‘a motivating factor’ without showing that it was a ‘but for’ cause.
“I applaud Senators Blumenthal and Booker and Representatives Raskin and Ivey for their leadership in promoting inclusion and equal opportunity. Their bill would go a long way toward fixing Section 1981 and I strongly urge its adoption.”
The bill was originally introduced in 2021.
U.S. Senate co-sponsors: Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D- MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR)
U.S. House co-sponsors: Representatives Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Glenn F. Ivey (D-MD), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Al Green (D-TX), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
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