The term "Corporate Personhood" means that the company has the same rights as a natural person (possessing property - entering into contracts - filing lawsuits - or even participating in political life and supporting election campaigns) (MacDonald, 2019); on the other hand, the company does not enjoy what people enjoy in human rights such as the right of adoption. Therefore, there is a big difference between considering the company as a legal person who can be treated legally and the company as a human person to whom all duties and rights apply.
Corporate Personhood & Race Relations:
Old: according to (Totenberg, 2014), companies were dependent on the owner's race to impart a specific ethnic identity; this ethnicity makes companies maintain a particular position among their customers; this was common among white communities to framing them from the black, Latino, and Native American communities, therefore, the white company have an identity identical to the identity of its white owner and does not differ from it, there is a stereotype that white companies have more knowledge and more power,. As a result, these companies gained a better reputation among the target audience at the time.
Newly, companies are now seeking to give a completely different image from what it was before; companies that make the mistake of calling themselves white may lose all their resources. Legally, this is entirely not allowed in the United States and many countries of the world; on the ethical side, there is a societally accepted concept called "Racial Justice," meaning that companies ensure fair treatment of people of different races, society also expects companies to have a set of ethical standards and responsibilities that must be met, the first is that companies welcome diversity, whether in race, religion, gender, etc., (Logan, 2019).
Corporate Ethnicity Proof:
According to Winkler (2018), old and new companies have treated race as a consumer issue. In the past, the white man was superior, and corporate identity always aspired to appear completely white. However, now there is a general trend towards ethnic diversity, and those who disagree with that will not be able to attract the masses to it. That is meant, old and new, to raise funds by highlighting the ethnic character of companies.
Conclusion
Corporate leaders should mobilize their resources toward racial issues. This is by putting aside the racist discourse among the employees of one company, treating them fairly and equally in rights and duties, ensuring no discrimination in jobs based on race or color, and building a good image to deal with different ethnicities. This is to ensure a distinct personality for companies that their customers can be proud of.
References
Logan, N. (2019). Corporate personhood and the corporate responsibility to race. Journal of Business Ethics, 154(4), 977–988. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3893-3 Retrieved from EBSCO multi-search in the TUW Library
MacDonald, C. (2019). It is essential to treat corporations as persons, except when it's not. The Business Ethics blog. Retrieved from: https://businessethicsblog.com/2019/11/23/why-its-essential-to-treat-corporations-as-persons-except-when-its-not/
Totenberg, N. (2014). When did companies become people? Excavating the legal evolution. National Public Radio, 28.
Winkler, A. (2018). 'Corporations Are People Built on an Incredible 19th-Century Lie. The Atlantic, 5