August 3, 2023
The Nerve! Conservative Affirmative Action Activist Sues Black-Women Owned VC Firm
The war against affirmative action has reached new lows thanks to Edward Blum.
The conservative activist that played a key role in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reject affirmative action within college admissions has sued the Black-women-owned venture capital firm, Fearless Fund, Reuters reports.
Blum, the founder of the nonprofit American Alliance for Equal Rights, filed the lawsuit on Aug. 3, accusing the Atlanta-based firm of practicing unlawful racial discrimination by making only Black women eligible for a grant competition. He also claims the firm is violating Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866—a law that bans racial bias in private contracts. Lawsuits by Blum’s firm led to the historic ruling declaring race-conscious student admissions policies used by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina as unlawful.
Founded by actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, entrepreneur Arian Simone, and corporate executive Ayana Parsons, Fearless Fund has been pivotal in “bridging the gap in venture capital funding for women of color founders building scalable, growth aggressive companies,” per the firm’s mission statement.
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According to AfroTech, Blum claims that close to 60 members of his group, who are primarily white and Asian American, “have been excluded from the grant program due to their race.” As Blum’s first target since the Supreme Court’s ruling, the suit focuses on the Fearless Funds’ Strivers Grant Contest, awarding Black women who own small businesses $20,000 in grants and digital tools to help them grow their businesses. Fearless Fund has worked with top brands, including the Tory Burch Foundation and Mastercard, for over four years for grant competitions.
He admits that this lawsuit is the first of many he hopes to pursue through his nonprofit against private corporations. “The common theme of these organizations is to challenge in the courts the use of racial classifications and preferences in our nation’s policies,” Blum said.