#AirBnbWhileBlack Victim Files Lawsuit

On Tuesday, Airbnb was hit with a proposed class actionthat claims the website, where people can list, find and rent lodging, discriminates against black travelers.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit, a 25-year-old black male named Gregory Selden, says that he tried to rent space in Philadelphia for a vacation with his friends. Using the Airbnb website, Selden inquired about the availability of an accommodation listed by a host agent known by the screenname of “Paul.” The suit claims that Paul rejected Selden’s request, stating that the space was not available.

Shortly thereafter, the suit alleges, Selden found the same listing from Paul– a listing that indicated the accomidation was, in fact, still available.

Selden, believing he was discriminated against because of his race, created two fake guest profiles under the names of “Jessie” and “Todd.” “Jessie” had nearly the same demographics as Selden – except his race was white, while “Todd” was an older white male. When “Jessie” and “Todd” asked for the same accommodation for same dates Selden planned to travel, the requests were approved, according to the suit.

Selden claims that he contacted Airbnb about the issue, but received no response. When Selden reached out to Paul, he was allegedly “shamed” for speaking out against an act he believed to be discriminatory. In fact, the suit says that Paul stated that “people like [Selden] were simply victimizing [themselves].” Selden then took his complaint to Twitter, where the hashtag #airbnbwhileblack was tweeted thousands of times, according to the suit.

The suit cites violations of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act.