On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash in Atlanta denied a request from Edward Blum’s American Alliance for Equal Rights for a preliminary injunction that would block the Fearless Fund from awarding grants to Black women businesses.
The lawsuit stated that by awarding $20,000 grants and services to that particular demographic, it violates a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 that warrants “race neutrality” in contracts. This disgusting attack on the small venture capital fund was led by the man who successfully implored the U.S. Supreme Court to get rid of race-conscious college admissions policies.
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Blum claims he’s “anti-affirmative action” but really, he’s just anti-Black.
Blum’s group wanted Judge Thrash to temporarily block the Fearless Fund—which they dubbed a “racially exclusive program”—while the court considered the validity of the case.
In another despicable move, Blum’s group realized that the deadline for the Fearless Fund grant application was Saturday (Sept. 23) and immediately filed an emergency appeal to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals so a winner wouldn’t be selected.
Thrash ruled that the Fearless Fund qualifies as charitable giving, which is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment. Thrash was appointed by President Bill Clinton and is expected to file an opinion in the case sometime this week.
In a statement, Blum said: “Our nation’s civil rights laws do not permit racial distinctions because some groups are overrepresented in various endeavors, while others are underrepresented.”
Though Blum believes the lie that Black women are “overrepresented” in the business space, the truth is that only 1.1 percent of the $214 billion in venture capital funding allocated went to companies with Black founders in 2022, per data from Crunchbase.
The judge, like the Fearless Fund founders Ayana Parsons and Arian Simone, saw right through Blum’s racism. “Women of color continue to face significant barriers in obtaining access to capital,” Parsons and Arian Simone said in a statement.
“We are very pleased with the court’s decision to deny the plaintiff’s attempt to shut down our grant program and look forward to continuing to advance our critical mission.”
It’ll be just be a matter of time before Blum comes for another program or policy promoting racial equity for Black people. But we can still savor this victory and say with our chest: Go to hell, Edward.
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