After Dismantling Affirmative Action, Right-Wing Extremists Take Aim At Fund That Supports Black Women In Business
Edward Blum, president of AAER, is the face of the initial lawsuit that led to the dismantling of Affirmative Action. For over a decade, Blum filed multiple lawsuits and was only successful after a Supreme Court, filled with multiple Trump appointees, used its power to end race-base admissions on college campuses.
Blum and his organization is now going after a fund that supports Black women-led businesses.
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 $25 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.
Last week, Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights filed a lawsuit in Atlanta federal court that alleges a program that awards $20,000 in small business grants to Black women is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
In the lawsuit, AAER claims they have members who are being excluded from the program because they are the wrong race. Three white women and one Asian woman is a part of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit specifically takes aim at the Fearless Strivers Grant Contest in partnership with Mastercard which awards grants of $20,000. But while Fearless Fund is being sued, Mastercard is not.
Blum and his organization should not be considered a lone-wolf. He’s a right-wing conservative who is received millions in contributions from other conservative donors.
Blum has received funding from the Searle Freedom Trust, the Scaife Foundation and Bradley Foundation, alongside at least $3 million from Donors Trust, according to Slate.
But while Blum seeks to destroy any assistance that Black people may receive via education and business, he fails to note how disparities continues to exist in every sector of American society.
In America, over $70 billion was allocated for VC funding in 2023, according to Crunchbase. However, less than 1% of that amount went to companies founded by Black people.
In turn, Black business owners have to seek funding from alternative means.
So it’s not that Blum and the white women and Asian woman he represents are being excluded from funding, his organization is strategically seeking of ways to cause further pain to Black Americans through the legal system.
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