The Southern Burlington County NAACP planned to show the biopic "Harriet" about the iconic Underground Railroad leader before the chapter’s Joint Freedom Fund Gala on Nov. 2.
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MOUNT LAUREL — A New Jersey chapter of the NAACP has canceled an upcoming screening of a movie about Harriet Tubman due to an ongoing civil rights battle involving Comcast, the parent company of the film’s production company.
The Southern Burlington County NAACP planned to host a special showing of the biopic "Harriet" about the iconic Underground Railroad leader at the Regal Cinema theater in Moorestown before the chapter’s Joint Freedom Fund Gala on Nov. 2.
The film stars Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo in the title role and follows Tubman as she escapes slavery in Maryland and then returns to lead hundreds of black slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. It was directed by Kasi Lemmons, an African-American filmmaker best known for the 1997 drama "Eve’s Bayou" and co-written by her and Gregory Allen Howard, who penned "Ali" and "Remember the Titans."
The film has been celebrated as the first major motion picture dedicated to Tubman and her heroism. The Burlington County branch considered it the perfect kickoff to their gala, which is the organization’s major fundraiser.
But that was before the organizers learned the film was produced by Focus Features, which is part of NBCUniversal and a subsidiary of Comcast, which has been accused by the NAACP’s national office of seeking to undermine a critical part of the 1866 Civil Rights Act.
Because of Comcast’s legal position, the branch decided to cancel the "Harriet" screening, officials said.
"The branch decided to take a stand as a long standing civil rights (law) is being threatened in court by the owner of the film’s production company, Comcast," said Marcus Sibley, the Southern Burlington County NAACP’s spokesman and communication chair.
A spokesperson for Comcast defended the company’s actions, saying the controversy stems from "frivolous, baseless claims. The spokesperson also said the company hopes people would not be persuaded to skip the Tubman film because of it.
"Focus Features has a longstanding history of releasing and telling stories that matter," the spokesperson said. "This film and seeing Harriet Tubman’s life on screen is about celebrating her courage and legacy, and we hope as many people come out to theaters to do just that."
Comcast’s civil rights fight stems from a $20 billion racial discrimination lawsuit with African-American entertainment mogul Byron Allen, who sued the cable company because of its repeated refusal to carry several of his own company’s cable channels, such as JusticeCentral.TV, Cars.TV, Pets.TV and Comedy.TV., on its cable systems.
His lawsuit argues that Comcast’s refusal violates the 1866 Civil Rights Act’s Section 1981, which specifies that blacks may not be discriminated against in business contracts.
Comcast counters that its decision not to carry Allen’s channels had nothing to do with his company being minority-owned but rather because they had low ratings.
The NAACP became involved after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Comcast’s appeal of a 2018 decision by the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in California overturned several lower court decisions dismissing the case. The 9th Circuit found that Allen’s allegations deserved a hearing based on the belief that racial discrimination might have been a factor.
Comcast argued that the court used the wrong standard and that race would need to be the determining factor rather than merely a motivating factor in the decision.
The NAACP’s national office contends Comcast’s argument for a stricter standard weakens the Civil Rights Act and therefore undermines protections for minorities and it joined with several other civil rights groups in filing a brief in opposition to Comcast’s arguments.
The U.S. Justice Department has filed its own brief supporting a tighter definition when applying the Reconstruction Era law, drawing criticism from the NAACP and other civil rights groups, as well as several presidential contenders, among them U.S. Sen. Cory Booker.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case next month.
Crystal Charley, president of the Southern Burlington County NAACP, released a statement about the dispute Thursday, describing Comcast’s argument as a potentially "devastating blow to our oldest civil rights statute."
"The Civil Rights Act of 1866 rendered equalizers for black people in this country as it relates to employment, contracting and building wealth. Our expectations of Comcast, Byron Allen (Entertainment Studios) and ALL companies are that they employ and/or contract with black people and not discriminate based on race," Charley said. "At stake here is far bigger than Comcast or Mr. Allen. Our position regarding this case is based on irretrievable harm to black people and other marginalized communities."
In a statement, Comcast’s spokesperson said the company believes civil rights laws are an essential tool for protecting the rights of African-Americans and other diverse communities and that Allen’s lawsuit was to blame for the controversy.
"Mr. Allen’s frivolous, baseless claims — which a judge appointed by President Carter threw out three times as having nothing to do with race — debase and distort those laws. We are fully aligned with the view that this case should never have happened and we continue to hope that Mr. Allen will do the right thing and withdraw his claim — a move that would promptly terminate the Supreme Court case and bring this entire episode to an end," the spokesperson said.