National Urban League Backs Gigi Sohn’s FCC Nomination

The head of the National Urban League is calling on the Senate Commerce Committee to favorably report Democrat Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]'s Federal Communications Commission nomination to the full Senate and to work actively for a vote in that body. According to the letter, which was addressed to committee chairwoman Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and ranking member Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS), National Urban League president Marc Morial said Sohn would bring decades of experience to the task of closing the digital divide, which has only widened during COVID-19. The League has called on the FCC to tackle the divide through “broadband buildout, an affordable broadband and devices benefit, digital education, improved utilization of the internet for critical government services and increased opportunities for communities of color to benefit from the economic prosperity of this digital age.” Morial said Sohn has demonstrated a commitment to equity that will benefit communities of color and consumers in general. “[S]he has expressed interest in boosting media diversity and ownership, including through expansion of the broadcast incubator program beyond radio and via a reevaluation of the FCC’s minority ownership rules as part of its 2022 Quadrennial Review,” he said.