By: Maria-Paula 
 
On June 3, the appellate court temporarily blocked the Fearless Fund from giving $20,000 grants exclusively to Black women-owned businesses while a lawsuit is ongoing. 
Arian Simone, CEO and founding Partner of Fearless Fund and founder of the Fearless Foundation in reacted to the decision by showing displeasure at the United States Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit decision to uphold the injunction against the Fearless Foundation. It is a decision that has prevented the nonprofit organization from issuing grants to women of color-owned businesses since last August. 
Simone shared her disappointment as well as her determination to continue fighting for economic opportunities for women of color. She promised their supporters to turn the pain into purpose and fight harder with all their might.
“In this fearless moment, we should all be motivated to fight after today’s decision,” Simone said. “This is devastating for the Fearless Fund and Foundation, and for the women in which we have invested in.

“I am shattered for every girl of color who has a dream but will grow up in a nation determined not to give her a shot to live it. On their behalf, we will turn the pain into purpose and fight with all our might.”.

She reiterated that the judges’ decision sent out a message that diversity in corporate America, education, or anywhere else should not exist.
“If this was truly about exercising free speech with your dollars — an American tradition as old as this nation itself — the results would have been different. Instead, these judges bought what a small group of white men were selling. They countered the rulings of other courts sued on similar grounds. America is supposed to be a nation where one has the freedom to achieve, the freedom to earn, and the freedom to prosper. Yet, when we attempted to level the playing field for underrepresented groups, our freedoms were stifled,” Simone added.
Despite the court’s ruling, Simone confirmed that the Fearless Fund is still open for business and will utilize its available resources to support the underrepresented communities.  She said their grants are essential for some companies and emphasized the fact that women of color continue to lead the entrepreneurial pack and need support. 

“I will not give up on this fight. Our founders will not give up on this fight. Americans cannot give up on this fight.  The world will not give up on this fight. Instead, we must unite and stand together in this moment,” Simone stated. “We must keep up this fight for the next generation of girls who deserve to grow up in an America that lets them realize their dreams instead of outlawing them.”


The high court’s ruling overturned a previous decision by a federal judge in September. The judge in his submission found the lawsuit unlikely to succeed on First Amendment grounds, a decision supported by conservative activist Edward Blum’s who claimed that the grant program might be discriminatory. 

The ruling is seen as a significant setback for Fearless Fund, which hoped to increase its venture capital funding for Black women with a possibility of influencing similar race-conscious programs in the private sector. The Fearless Fund, founded by Black women to support Black women is a relatively small player in the venture capital industry received less than 1% of the $215 billion in venture capital funding in the year 2023.
Following last year’s landmark ruling against race-based college admissions, conservative activists like Blum have now turned their attention to the private sector.
“Our nation’s civil rights laws do not permit racial distinctions because some groups are overrepresented in various endeavors, while others are underrepresented. Programs that exclude certain individuals because of their race, such as the ones the Fearless Fund has designed and implemented, are unjust and polarizing,” said Blum.
The decision by the court, part of a larger trend in favor of conservative ideals, has threatened DEI Programs countrywide with a sprout of legal cases seen to destabilize business leaders. 
President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum and the attorney representing the Fearless Fund, Alphonso David, on the other hand described the court decision as the first in the 150-plus year history of the post-Civil War civil rights law that has halted private charitable support for any racial or ethnic group. 
Is this not or is this the outcome of a preliminary ruling without a full factual record since the dissenting judge, the district court, and other courts agree that these claims should not prevail? 
What next for DEI programs?