The Fearless Fund will end its grant program for Black women in business. On Sept. 11, Fearless Fund settled a lawsuit that claimed the organization violated the 1866 Civil Rights Act which prohibits the use of race in making contracts. The original law was issued to remedy discrimination against Black Americans post-slavery.
The Fearless Fund is an Atlanta-based venture capital firm that uses its resources to invests in and fund Black women in business. The fund has invested $26 million into over 40 companies that include Slutty Vegan, The Lip Bar, Partake Foods, and Live Tinted. The Fearless Fund also hosts training and financial literacy programs.
Edward Blum, president of AAER, who filed the lawsuit, was one of the people who led the charge to end Affirmative Action in higher education. Since the Supreme Court ended race-based admissions at colleges, Black enrollment has decreased significantly at schools nationwide. However, legacy students, who are more likely to be white, were not impacted by the ruling.
The lawsuit filed by Blum claimed that Fearless Fund’s Striver’s grant didn’t offer the funds to white women and other ethnicities.
The settlement avoids a potential Supreme Court ruling that could have had sweeping impact for race-based initiatives in the private sector.
The settlement “ensures that programs dedicated to uplifting underrepresented entrepreneurs remain intact and continue to serve their critical purpose,” Crump said in a statement.
The Fearless Fund also announced a $200 million debt loan program aimed at supporting “under-resourced entrepreneurs.”
“This initiative reflects their ongoing commitment to advancing equity and creating opportunities for those who have been historically marginalized,” Crump said.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently upheld an injunction against the Fearless Foundation that has prevented the nonprofit organization from issuing grants to women of color-owned businesses since last August. The judges sided with Edward Blum, president of AAER, who filed the lawsuit.
A three-judge panel, two judges appointed by Donald Trump and one by President Barack Obama, ruled 2-1 that Fearless Fund is not protected by the First Amendment in its efforts to provide grants for Black women in business.
Simone responded to the ruling by saying, “In this fearless moment, we should all be motivated to fight after today’s decision,” Simone said. “This is devastating for the Fearless Fund and Foundation, and for the women in which we have invested in. I am shattered for every girl of color who has a dream but will grow up in a nation determined not to give her a shot to live it. On their behalf, we will turn the pain into purpose and fight with all our might.”
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