A panel of federal judges issued a temporary injunction Saturday halting an Atlanta-based venture fund’s plan to distribute $20,000 grants exclusively to Black female entrepreneurs.
The targeted program, initiated by the firm Fearless Fund, aims to support Black women-owned businesses by offering grants along with mentorship and business support services. In blocking the initiative the judges said it was likely the program was illegal, per Reuters.
Earlier this week, Judge Thomas Thrash, a district judge in Georgia, ruled the program could continue. His verdict asserted the case was a matter of free speech and charitable donations that fall under the purview of the First Amendment, Reuters reported. (RELATED: Major Investment Banks Quietly Scrubs Race-Based Eligibility Criteria From ‘Diversity’ Program)
As many times as the wokeratti need to be told, you cannot contract on the basis of race in this country, even if you are sure you are the good guys. @FearlessFund loses, bigly, thanks to my incredible friends at @ConMcPLLC. pic.twitter.com/xRHpRP4XDc
— Adam Mortara (@AdamMortara) September 30, 2023
A temporary injunction, decided 2-1 by a panel of judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, however, has put a halt to the program. Judges Robert Luck and Andrew Brasher, who were appointed by former President Donald Trump, voted in favor of the injunction; Judge Charles Wilson, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, dissented from the majority opinion.
This action comes in response to a lawsuit filed earlier in the summer by a conservative organization, ABC News reported. The American Alliance for Equal Rights, a nonprofit organization supported by conservative legal advocate Edward Blum, initiated legal proceedings against the Fearless Fund in August. Their lawsuit alleges the venture capital fund’s grant initiative violated the “guarantee of race neutrality” outlined in the 1866 Civil Rights Act and claims it engaged in discriminatory practices against individuals of different racial backgrounds in its contracting decisions.