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Others are calling for larger foundations to help grantees if they are sued or are offering legal assistance themselves. The Council on Foundations, which supports philanthropic foundations and provides legal resources to its members to help them consider potential legal risks, submitted an amicus brief in the case supporting the Fearless Fund's First Amendment argument. “If you’re committed to DEI or race-conscious or race-based giving, you should not back down on your priorities. We’re funding homelessness or employment or the wealth gap,” she said as examples of changes in wording funders have made. The Black Freedom Fund, which was founded in 2021 to fund Black community organizations in California, has started a legal defense fund for its grantees for precisely that reason.

Persons: aren't, Fearless, Edward Blum, Blum, —, Searle, Sarah Scaife, Kathleen Enright, you’re, ”, John Palfrey, John D, Catherine T, Claudine Gay, Christopher Rufo, Bill Ackman, Gay, MacArthur, “, Mae Hong, Carmen Rojas, Marguerite Casey, Rojas, can’t, ” Rojas, Marc Philpart, ” Philpart, Hong, they’re, ” Hong Organizations: —, American Alliance for Equal Rights, Fair, Searle Freedom Trust, Sarah Scaife Foundation, Fidelity Investments, Donors Trust, National Philanthropic Trust, Foundations, MacArthur Foundation, Harvard University, Manhattan Institute, Harvard, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Blacks, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Freedom Fund, “, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Black, California

Judge Kevin Newsom, a Trump appointee, pushed back against the Fearless Fund's argument that the grants are protected by the First Amendment because they are charitable donations. He asked the Fearless Fund's attorneys whether the same protection would apply to a contest open only to white applicants. “I think that's a pretty simple yes or no,” Newsom said, interrupting when the attorney for the Fearless Fund, Jason Schwartz, started to reply. They’re saying, no, we want all the pie,” Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who is also representing the Fearless Fund Fund, said a news conference following the hearing. But since the lawsuit was filed, the Fearless Fund has had trouble securing new investment, said co-founder Arian Simone.

Persons: Donald Trump, Barack Obama —, Fearless, Kevin Newsom, Edward Blum, ” Newsom, Jason Schwartz, Schwartz, ” Schwartz, ” Ben Crump, ”, Morgan Chase, Arian Simone, “, ” Simone, Newsom, ______ Olson Organizations: MIAMI, American Alliance for Equal Rights, Trump, American Alliance, Black, Bank of America, Mastercard, “ Locations: U.S, Black, Miami, America, “, New York

"There are many other law firms with similar racially discriminatory programs," Blum said in a statement. "It is to be hoped that these firms proactively open their programs to all law students before they are sued in federal court." The paid fellowships were designed in part to help support the recruitment of people of color, which major law firms have long struggled to add to their partnership ranks. Last year, people of color comprised 11.4% of all partners in major U.S. law firms, according to the National Association for Law Placement. The lawsuit alleged the fellowship program violated a Civil War-era law enacted to protect formerly enslaved Black people that bars racial bias in contracting.

Persons: Edward Blum, Morrison, Foerster, firm's, Edward Blum's, Perkins Coie, Blum, Blum's, Fearless Fund's, Nate Raymond, Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Fair, Harvard University, Wednesday, Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights, National Association for Law, U.S, Supreme, Harvard, University of North, Thomson Locations: Boston, Dallas, Seattle, University of North Carolina

NEW YORK (AP) — A grant program for businesses run by Black women was temporarily blocked by a federal appeals court in a case epitomizing the escalating battle over corporate diversity policies. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily prevents the Fearless Fund from running the Strivers Grant Contest, which awards $20,000 to businesses that are at least 51% owned by Black women, among other requirements. In a statement Sunday, the Atlanta-based Fearless Fund said it would comply with the order but remained confident of ultimately prevailing in the lawsuit. “We strongly disagree with the decision and remain resolute in our mission and commitment to address the unacceptable disparities that exist for Black women and other women of color in the venture capital space,” the Fearless Fund said. The Fearless Fund has enlisted prominent civil rights lawyers, including Ben Crump, to defend against the lawsuit.

Persons: Edward Blum, “, Thomas W, program's, ” Blum, Judge Charles R, Wilson, Ben Crump, ” Organizations: Circuit, American Alliance for Equal Rights, Civil, U.S, District Locations: Atlanta, Black, U.S .

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

U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash during a hearing denied a request by Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights for a preliminary injunction blocking Fearless Fund from considering applications for grants only from businesses led by Black women. Blum's group had asked the judge to temporarily block the Fearless Fund's "racially exclusive program" while the court considered the merits of the case. Fearless Fund founders Arian Simone and Ayana Parsons in a joint statement said they were pleased that Thrash rejected Blum's attempt to shut down their grant program. 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: Edward Blum, Thomas, Edward Blum's, Blum, Arian Simone, Ayana Parsons, Simone, Parsons, JPMorgan Chase, Strivers, Nate Raymond, Will Dunham, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: Fair, Harvard University, Supreme, U.S, District, Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights, Circuit, Appeals, University of North, JPMorgan, Bank of America, MasterCard, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Atlanta, Texas, University of North Carolina, Black, U.S . Civil, 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

But the Fearless Fund is a tiny player in the approximately $200 billion global venture capital market. Less than 1% of venture capital funding goes to businesses owned by Black and Hispanic women, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Digitalundivided. The lawsuit against the Fearless Fund was filed by Edward Blum, the conservative activist who filed the affirmative action cases before the Supreme Court. Fearless Fund has invested more than $2 million in Thirteen Lune, founded by Nyako Griego. The combined share of venture capital funding received by Black and Latina founders briefly surpassed 1% in 2021 before dipping back below that threshold in 2022, according to Digitalundivided.

Persons: ”, Arian Simone, it's, Simone, ” Simone, Fearless, Edward Blum, Blum, ” Blum, Ben Crump, Marc Rosen, Thirteen, Sephora, Kohl's, Rosen, They’re, ” Rosen, Nyako Griego, George Floyd, Morgan Chase, Associated Press Retail Writers Anne D'Innocenzio, Haleluya Hadero Organizations: Fearless Fund, Black, Associated Press, Civil, American Alliance, Equal, AP, Fund, Court, Latina, Bank of America, Mastercard, Associated Press Retail Writers Locations: Atlanta, Texas, Florida, U.S, Lune

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