CNN Faces A Class Action Racial Discrimination Suit That Is Growing 'Exponentially'

According to Breanna Edwards of The Root.com, CNN is facing a growing racial discrimination lawsuit that according to The Hollywood Reporter “may grow exponentially.” CNN’s ongoing lawsuit is explained in an April 5, 2017 piece titled “CNN Facing Racial-Discrimination Lawsuit Claiming African Americans Receive Lower Performance Ratings in Evaluations”:

Another major news network is facing allegations in a racial-discrimination lawsuit, stemming from a proposed class action in Georgia federal court. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs claim that at CNN and other Time Warner units, African Americans receive lower performance ratings in evaluations, that there are huge discrepancies in pay between employees doing similar jobs but who are of different races, and that promotion for black employees is blocked by a “glass ceiling.”

Thus, while CNN felt the need to publicize an apology regarding racist Reddit posts, it’s currently facing a racial discrimination lawsuit entailing numerous horrific allegations.

In addition to The Root, The Hollywood Reporter has also described CNN’s ongoing legal troubles in an April 4, 2017 piece by Eriq Gardner titled “CNN Faces Growing Racial Discrimination Lawsuit”:

Unlike the lawsuit against Fox News, the one against CNN and sister companies is much broader, claiming among other things that African-Americans receive lower performance ratings in evaluations, that there are dramatic differences in pay between similarly situated employees of different races and that the promotion of African-American employees is blocked by a “glass ceiling.” The complaint (see here) cites hiring and advancement statistics while alleging that African-American employees have endured slurs from superiors, including “It’s hard to manage black people” and “Who would be worth more: black slaves from times past, or new slaves?”

...

According to a plaintiffs’ motion to amend that was filed March 23, “Since the filing of this action, counsels for the plaintiffs have been contacted by more than 175 people, both former and current employees of the Defendant, requesting to be members of the putative class action, all having similar complaints of intentional racial discrimination, discrimination impact and discriminatory practices employed by the Defendants.”

With so much attention placed on memes by CNN, and Reddit posts, it’s bizarre that more Americans aren’t aware of the “more definitive statement about specific allegations” regarding this racial discrimination lawsuit.

Finally, HR Dive highlights the key elements of CNN’s lawsuit in a piece by Valerie Bolden-Barrett, “CNN employees say network is ‘rife with racism’ in class action discrimination lawsuit”:

Allegations of racism and bigotry against news organizations, sadly, aren’t new. The recent spate of high-prole lawsuits highlighted a longstanding issue for the industry. Last week, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) issued a statement on its website in reaction to allegations of racial discrimination against CNN competitor Fox News.

For a network claiming to stand for journalistic integrity and for a brand opposed to racism, it’s ironic that these allegations regarding severe racial discrimination have been made against CNN. Instead of focusing on Reddit, or the posts of private citizens online, CNN staff and journalists should address their ongoing racial discrimination lawsuit. America, and journalism, need powerful media entities to treat their employees with dignity and respect. CNN, with it’s ongoing lawsuit, proves that even those who claim to be morally superior to others, can often engage in the most vile behavior.

H. A. Goodman is the creator of Counter Propa and the thoughts above are inspired by his new publication. Follow Counter Propa on Twitter and Facebook. Follow H. A. Goodman on Twitter.