(RepublicanJournal.org) – Racial equality has suffered a setback after a federal judge ruled that an investment fund is allowed to racially discriminate when it awards business grants. The Georgia fund had been challenged by an equal rights group that says the decision will “obliterate nondiscrimination law.” Discrimination Still Happens The US has a long history of civil rights legislation that makes it illegal to discriminate against people because of their race. The first legal protection against racial discrimination was the 1866 Civil Rights Act, passed in the aftermath of the Civil War, and it’s been followed by a string of other laws that widen and strengthen the protections it gives. That hasn’t stopped people trying to discriminate, though, and sadly this still goes on today. Fearless Fund was launched in 2019 by Arian Simone, Keshia Knight Pulliam, and Ayana Parsons.
It’s backed by major financial institutions, including Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Mastercard, and so far it’s given almost $27 million to business startups in the Atlanta area. That all sounds positive, but there’s a problem — it uses racial discrimination to help decide what companies to invest in. It doesn’t even try to hide this; the fund is open about the fact it only invests in businesses owned by women of color. It runs one program, the Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, that’s only open to black women. The American Alliance for Equal Rights, led by conservative activist Edward Blum, says this is racist. In early August, Blum filed a lawsuit against Fearless Fund, alleging the grant contest illegally discriminates against white and Asian applicants. Blum has a history of challenging what some see as “affirmative action” and others call racism; in June the US Supreme Court voted 6-3 in favor of another group he founded which objected to “race-conscious” admissions policies at major universities.
The justices ruled that it’s unlawful for universities to discriminate against white and Asian applicants. Judge Makes Controversial Ruling Unfortunately for Blum, US District Judge Thomas Thrash doesn’t agree with the Supreme Court. On September 26, he ruled that the grant program was protected as free speech under the First Amendment, even though Blum’s complaint wasn’t actually about what Fearless Fund was saying — it was about how they chose who to give money to. Founders Simone and Parsons welcomed the decision, saying they “remain fearless and steadfast” in their mission to boost “women of color entrepreneurs.” Blum isn’t giving up easily, though. He’s already filed an emergency appeal in an attempt to stop the fund from picking a grant winner this year. So far he’s successfully taken one case of anti-white discrimination to the Supreme Court; this is on track to be the second.
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