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The
Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the
group's discrimination lawsuit was likely to succeed, reversing
a judge’s decision that the program should be allowed to
continue while the case moves forward.
The ruling is a victory for Edward Blum, the conservative
activist behind the successful U.S. Supreme Court challenge to
race-conscious college admissions policies.
Blum’s group American Alliance for Equal Rights last year
alleged the Fearless Fund was violating a 19th century federal
law that bars racial bias in private contracts.
The lawsuit targeted a Fearless Fund program that awards Black
women who own small businesses $20,000 in grants and other
resources to grow their businesses.
Businesses owned by Black women in 2022 received less than 1% of
the $288 billion that venture capital firms deployed, according
to the Fearless Fund.
The 11th Circuit panel, led by Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom, an
appointee of former Republican U.S. President Donald Trump,
concluded that Fearless Fund’s program did not warrant speech
protections under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
Another Trump appointee, Robert Luck, joined Newsom’s order.
Circuit Judge Robin Rosenbaum, an Obama-era appointee,
dissented, accusing the plaintiffs of pretending to be harmed by
the program. The grant initiative had been on hold following an
earlier decision from the appeals court.
Attorneys for Fearless Fund in a statement said Monday's ruling
contradicted more than 150 years of civil rights law. They said
the decision "is not the final outcome in this case."
Fearless Fund had argued to the court in January that it had a
constitutional right to express its belief in the importance of
Black women to the economy through charity.
Blum in a statement on Monday said federal “civil rights laws do
not permit racial distinctions because some groups are
overrepresented in various endeavors, while others are
under-represented.”
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Edited by David Bario and Bill
Berkrot)
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