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NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge in Texas has ordered a 55-year-old U.S. agency that caters to minority-owned businesses to serve people regardless of race, siding with white business owners who claimed the program discriminated against them. The agency, which helps minority-owned businesses obtain financing and government contracts, now operates in 33 states and Puerto Rico. Justice Department lawyers representing Minority Business Development Agency declined to comment on the ruling, which can be appealed to the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. John F. Robinson, president of the National Minority Business Council, said the ruling is “a blow against minority owned businesses," and does nothing to help majority-owned businesses because they already enjoy access to federal resources through the Small Business Administration. "It has the potential of damaging the whole minority business sector because there will be less service available to minority-owned businesses,” Robinson said.

Persons: Mark T, Pittman, Donald Trump, Nixon, Biden, ” Pittman, Dan Lennington, ” Lennington, John F, Robinson, ” Robinson, Arian Simone, Alphonso David, David, Stanley Goldfarb, ”, “, —, David Glasgow, Graham Lee Brewer, Haleluya Hadero Organizations: —, U.S, Northern, Northern District of, U.S . Commerce Department, Infrastructure Investment, Jobs, Black, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, Justice Department, Business, Agency, Circuit, National Minority Business Council, Small Business Administration, Economic, Pfizer, The, Appeals, American Alliance for Equal Rights, Meltzer Center for Diversity, New York University’s School of Law, Supreme, AP Locations: Texas, Northern District, Northern District of Texas, Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Tennessee, Atlanta, The New York, Florida, New

Circuit Court of Appeals on a 2-1 vote granted a request by Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights to temporarily block Fearless Fund from considering applications for grants only from businesses led by Black women. Blum's group asked the court to do so while it appealed a judge's Tuesday ruling denying it a preliminary injunction blocking Fearless Fund from moving forward with its "racially exclusive program." Fearless Fund did not immediately respond to requests for comment. According to the Fearless Fund, businesses owned by Black women in 2022 received less than 1% of the $288 billion that venture capital firms deployed. It also provides grants, and Blum's lawsuit took aim at its Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, which awards Black women who own small businesses $20,000 in grants and other resources to grow their businesses.

Persons: Ben Crump, Arian Simone, Ayana Parsons, Mylan Denerstein, Alphonso David, Eduardo Munoz, Edward Blum's, Blum's, Grant, Robert Luck, Andrew Brasher, Thomas, Donald Trump, Blum, JPMorgan Chase, Strivers, Nate Raymond, Alexia Garamfalvi, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Fund, REUTERS, Supreme, Circuit, Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights, U.S, District, American Alliance for Equal Rights, Harvard University, University of North, JPMorgan, Bank of America, MasterCard, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Atlanta, Texas, University of North Carolina, Black, Boston

Those lawsuits accuse all three of violating Section 1981 of the 1866 Civil Rights Act, a law enacted after the Civil War that guarantees all people the same right to make and enforce contracts "as is enjoyed by white citizens." "All of our nation's civil rights laws - including the 1866 Civil Rights Act - enshrine the command that someone's race and ethnicity must never be used to help or harm them in public and private employment and contracting," Blum, who is white, told Reuters in an email. FREE SPEECH ARGUMENTFearless Fund has brought in prominent lawyers to defend it, including civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Alphonso David, who during a news conference called Blum's use of the Civil War-era law "cynical." They argue that the rules for the grants are merely criteria for being eligible for a "discretionary gift" and do not create a "contract" subject to the civil rights law. Blum's group countered that Fearless Fund's argument would ironically undermine the very causes it favors by essentially invalidating Section 1981 and deeming racial discrimination protected by the First Amendment.

Persons: Edward Blum, Morrison, Foerster, Edward Blum's, Thomas, Fearless Fund's, Bill Clinton, Blum, Sarah Hinger, Hinger, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Arian Simone, Ayana Parsons, Blum's, Strivers, Ben Crump, Alphonso David, Nate Raymond, Alexia Garamfalvi, Will Dunham Organizations: Fair, Harvard University, Supreme, Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights, University of North, U.S, District, Democratic, Reuters, American Civil, Racial, Thomson Locations: Boston , Massachusetts, U.S, University of North Carolina, Atlanta, Black, Blum's Texas, Colorado, Boston

☆ Human Rights Campaign, largest U.S. LGBTQ advocacy group, names new president
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The Human Rights Campaign announced Tuesday that Kelley Robinson will serve as its ninth president — the first Black queer woman to lead the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization. Robinson will step into the role a year after HRC fired its previous president, Alphonso David, who was the organization's first Black president. David allegedly consulted with the governor's office in December 2020, while president of HRC, the report said. David maintained that he wasn’t aware of allegations of sexual harassment against the governor during his time as chief counsel. In February, David sued the organization in federal court, alleging that he was underpaid and then terminated “because he is Black."

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