An appeals court has ordered a venture capital firm that provides grants to Black women entrepreneurs to pause grant applications after a federal judge shut down a request by an activist on a rampage against affirmative action.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia, ordered the Fearless Fund to pause grant applications on Sept. 30 while the federal lawsuit filed by conservative activist Edward Blum is pending. Blum and his nonprofit American Alliance for Equal Rights claim that the Fearless Fund discriminates against white people.
Blum claims in his lawsuit that the fund violates the Civil Rights Act of 1866 because it is only eligible for women of color. The Fearless Fund was created by Arian Simone, Ayana Parsons, and “The Cosby Show” actress Keshia Knight Pulliam and is the first venture capital fund for women of color by women of color—the firm grants eligible women and business owners $20,000 in seed funding and growth financing.
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American Alliance for Equal Rights filed an emergency motion after U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash denied their request for an injunction to stop the grants on Sept. 26. A three-judge panel with the 11th Circuit overturned the ruling 2 to 1.
The two judges who agreed with Blum called the Fearless Fund “racially exclusionary.” Another 11th Circuit panel will now rule on whether the injunction that blocks the grants will remain in place as the case is being litigated at the district court level.
“The plaintiffs have established an irreparable injury,” read the ruling.
The Fearless Fund released a statement following the 2-1…
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