A. TITLE II

      Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits racial discrimination in places of public accommodation, stating, “[a]ll persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation ... without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.” Unfortunately for black shoppers, Title II provides a list of places that qualify as public accommodations that does not include retail establishments. Rather, Title II defines “places of public accommodation” as including hotels, restaurants, theaters, and establishments located within hotels, restaurants, or theaters. Additionally, Title II includes any restaurant or other facility engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises, “including, but not limited to any such facility located on the premises of any retail establishment.” At least two federal courts have held this list to be exclusive. Courts have held that “[t]he clear implication of this provision is that Congress did not intend to include retail establishments--thus the need to make clear that restaurant-type facilities within a retail establishment were covered under 42 U.S.C. § 2000a(b)(2). If retail establishments were also intended to be covered, there would be no need for this provision.” The legislative history tends to agree with courts; retail establishments were not included in Title II because discrimination in retail stores was considered less prevalent than in the included establishments. As Senator Humphrey put it in 1964 in his comments before the Senate of the 88th Congress:

       Discrimination in retail establishments generally is not as troublesome a problem as is discrimination in the places of public accommodation enumerated in the bill. And it seems likely that if discrimination is terminated in restaurants and hotels, it will soon be terminated voluntarily in those few retail stores where it still exists.

      Unfortunately, Senator Humphrey's vision of society fifty years later was incorrect, as Title II's exclusion of retail establishments did not terminate discrimination voluntarily in those places, but rather served to deny relief to consumers who in fact had legitimate claims. Thus, because retail establishments are not specifically listed and do not fall into any of the expressly enumerated categories of places of public accommodation, Title II does not appear to adequately protect black shoppers from racially discriminatory treatment in retail stores.