The Fearless Fund Has Been Taken Down. Who's Next?

The Fearless Fund (FF) made the heartbreaking decision to end its grant program for companies owned by Black women. The program has been under attack from right-wing activists who claimed the program was discriminatory.

On June 3, 2024, the 11th Circuit Court ruled that the program was discriminatory and forced FF to suspend its Striver’s Grants program.

Ariana Simone and two young volunteers make the point about the impact of this ruling. (Image Credit: Fearless Fund Twitter Page)

As of September 11, 2024, Fearless Fund has chosen to settle the lawsuit by shutting down that program completely. Given the conservative super-majority on the US Supreme Court, with its record of hostility to Affirmative Action, FF decided that the best path forward was to find other ways to accomplish its mission.

In a statement, Arian Simone made a commitment: “From the moment the lawsuit was filed, I pledged to stand firm in helping and empowering women of color entrepreneurs in need. I stand by that pledge today, and in fact, my commitment remains stronger than ever,” Simone said.

The Striver’s Grant program may be ending, but this commitment voiced by Simone ensures that Fearless Fund will continue to advance the goal of increasing access for Women of Color into the business world. Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump outlined a program to provide “a $200 million debt loan program” that will more broadly support under-resourced entrepreneurs.

That Fearless Fund was forced into this choice demonstrates the barriers faced by women in general, and Women of Color in particular in trying launch a business. Women of Color were awarded less than 0.5% of the $140.4 billion of venture capital given to start-ups last year.

Sadly, this minute amount represented the apex of funding received by WOC that resulted from the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020. Of the tiny amount of money awarded to women overall, 64% is given to White women, while Black women only receive 10%.

There was some ray of good news in this. The settlement was “very narrow” in the words of lead counsel, Alphonso Davis, an attorney for Fearless Fund. Only the Striver’s Grant program is affected.

In addition, Fearless Fund requested that the scope of the decision be limited to the 11th Circuit Court which only covers Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Otherwise, the two judges appointed by Trump in the 11th Circuit could set a dangerous precedent for the entire country.

The suit against Fearless Fund is only one part of a much broader campaign to end Affirmative Action nationwide. Perhaps the most aggressive participant in this campaign is the American Alliance of Equal Rights (AAER). This was the group responsible for the US Supreme Court decision that Affirmative Action programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were discriminatory. The programs have ended at both schools.

To date, none of the actions against Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) programs have resulted in a precedent set by the Supreme Court

. Part of the reason for settling the suit was to avoid such a precedent.

“By strategically avoiding a Supreme Court ruling that could have eliminated race-based funding, we protected vital opportunities for the entire Black and brown community,” Crump said in a statement.

For PW’s previous coverage of this story: