Black Women receive less than 1% of VC funding, yet a program designed to help them is discriminatory??
People need to be reminded that if things were actually fair and equitable, there wouldn’t be a need for D&I initiatives in the first place! The thesis behind any fund, any program, or any effort created to help underrepresented founders, especially Black Women, isn’t about doing charity work - it’s about challenging a system that wouldn’t change otherwise.
It’s about helping the underfunded get capital so their businesses can survive. It’s about making sure the overlooked get seen. It’s about giving the underserved access so they have a fighting chance. The work is as necessary as it is critical.
To those that continue to try to enact change in the face of adversity, thank you, you’re appreciated. For those that understand the gravity of this decision, we need you to speak up and support! For those that don’t get what the big deal is, it’s time to wake up before it’s too late.
#howdidwegethere
96% of venture funding ($145 billion in 2023) went to white men and it's the $20K in small grants to Black women that you find discriminatory and unconstitutional???
#ThisIsAmericahttps://lnkd.in/ez7KDpX9
Thousands of VC, Private Equities, and Investors ONLY investing in white male led companies for decades without any legal implications and they are now coming for $20K grants coming from Fearless Fund for Black Women Founders who receive <1% of overall funding ... I can't, I just can't right now!
#standupforwhatsright#representationmatters#buildyourowntable#enoughalready!
96% of venture funding ($145 billion in 2023) went to white men and it's the $20K in small grants to Black women that you find discriminatory and unconstitutional???
#ThisIsAmericahttps://lnkd.in/ez7KDpX9
On the matter of the Fearless Fund case...
I have some commentary.
Between quotes " " is text from the article.
Between asterisks * * are my observations/reflections.
"The appeals panel ruled 2-1 that allowing the $20,000 awards to be issued under the fund’s Fearless Strivers Grant Contest would be “substantially likely” to violate a federal statute that prohibits racial discrimination in contracts. The panel also ruled that the plaintiffs, who were not identified by name in their legal complaint, had standing to proceed with their case."
*The plaintiffs did not have the courage to stand for what they stand for publicly. They are surreptitiously accelerating the regression of every advance the US has made toward rectifying centuries-long systemic, deliberately imposed poverty on Black people. It will also have ripple effects to every other non-white racial and ethnic group. They will do this without facing any public scrutiny or accountability, unless their identifies are revealed by journalists. They are also purportedly doing this over $20K. I'm willing to bet they don't even need it. We do know they are women, which turns my stomach.*
"The judges in the majority, Kevin Newsom and Robert Luck, were appointed by President Donald Trump. The dissenting judge, Robin Rosenbaum, was appointed by President Barack Obama."
*REMEMBER THIS IN NOVEMBER, and now, when you're spouting off talking points against Democrats. Elections matter.*
“[The plaintiffs' anti-DEI crusader representative group] is grateful that the court has ruled that the Fearless Fund’s racially exclusive grant competition is illegal,” Blum said... “Our nation’s civil rights laws do not permit racial distinctions because some groups are overrepresented in various endeavors, while others are underrepresented.”
*Efforts to carve out funding for Black women entrepreneurs are not about "underrepresentation." They are to CORRECT intentional, systemic exclusion at every level. We know the numbers. It is not some passive disinterest from Black women that leads to "underrepresentation." It is a chronic, concerted, consistent "NO" for those who manage to make it past all the access barriers in the first place. Access barriers that were installed centuries ago, and persist today in policies, in custom, and in the collective psyche of the US. From undervaluing Black-owned homes in real estate to refusing to hire people with "Black-sounding" names, it is still happening every. single. day.*
"Many companies are already tweaking their DEI policies ... the next wave of DEI lawsuits may challenge policies that are racially neutral on the face but ultimately still affect people along racial or ethnic lines."
*Environmental justice policy is fundamentally linked to disparate IMPACT. There are no laws that say "dump toxic chemicals in Black communities." The impacts and correlations are the only way to prove environmental racism. This ruling creates dangerous precedent beyond funding.*
96% of venture funding ($145 billion in 2023) went to white men and it's the $20K in small grants to Black women that you find discriminatory and unconstitutional???
#ThisIsAmericahttps://lnkd.in/ez7KDpX9
Come now: “A panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled Monday that an Atlanta-based venture capital firm should be temporarily blocked from issuing grants reserved for businesses owned by Black women, saying that doing so would probably discriminate against business owners of other races.” Non-discrimination and equal protection are now nothing more than straight semantics, with blinders up to how the law might do anything to protect or undo persistent discrimination. Land of the free…for existing discrimination to endlessly persist?
Might a court finally rule that standard venture capital firms are “probably discriminating”…against business owners who are women and non-white??
What frustrates me is how reductive the argument is against any form of equity strategy, affirmative action, or parity quota. The US legal system is stuck on equal opportunity while ignoring unequal results. What courts rule on in the US is not equal rights—they rule solely for de jure equality and not for de facto equality. Our rule of law will stay forever on paper that way, and not in practice.
Meanwhile, international human rights law has fully addressed this, which the US legal system grievously ignores. Article 4 of CEDAW: “article 4.1 of the Convention, Recommends that States Parties make more use of temporary special measures such as positive action, preferential treatment or quota systems to advance women's integration into education, the economy, politics and employment.” See General Recommendation 5 by the CEDAW Committee that states explicitly that TSMs are not discrimination if they are designed to achieve de facto equality of women and men.
Let’s get to work on ratifying CEDAW and we can challenge and overturn these painful court decisions. Let’s educate legal theory to be more sophisticated about how myopic the clinging to de jure equality is, when it negates its purpose by being weaponized to stop measures to eradicate inequalities and secure equality in practice and in results.
Grateful hat tip to Kaci Y. Patterson, MBA for flagging this and reminding us that “equity does not violate the Constitution—it fulfills it.”
YES. 🙌 We need to see our courts stop blocking the means to fulfill the Constitution’s protections.
96% of venture funding ($145 billion in 2023) went to white men and it's the $20K in small grants to Black women that you find discriminatory and unconstitutional???
#ThisIsAmericahttps://lnkd.in/ez7KDpX9
We gon talk about the big fat elephant 🐘 in the room again or nah?
We gon talk about the myth of meritocracy?
😳 77% of VC dollars went to companies with a White founder regardless of gender.
😳 More than 90% of VC partners went to Stanford University and/or Harvard University.
😳 More than 70% of startups that raise venture capital have a White male cofounder who went to Stanford University and/or Harvard University.
https://lnkd.in/gJ9386_A
Do the math! Does this add up???
If the US population is ONLY 58% White and if you are blocking the less than 1% that goes to Black people, specifically Black women, then the thought process behind these decisions are very simple:
*** White people are inherently better. If you're Black and receive position or money, it's a scam because you're inferior ***
Because why is no one questioning why SO much money is going to White VCs? Why is no one questioning why White folks are overrepresented in senior and executive leadership?
Why is merit simply accepted and assumed when the beneficiary is White?
Let's call a spade a spade ♠️
The WHY is anti-blackness, racism, White supremacy and misogynoir yet again... and it's bullshit.
And before anybody gets their high blood pressure up because they don't know what White supremacy is... READ 📚
QUOTE: "Both conscious and subconscious white supremacist beliefs are visible in social patterns that show, for instance, that university professors give more attention to potential students who are white; that many people regardless of race believe that lighter-skinned Black people are smarter than those with dark skin; and that teachers punish Black students more harshly for the same or even lesser offenses committed by white students."
https://lnkd.in/g8PaqiDZ
And this applies to every other situation regarding power, status, capital and position where the math is just simply not mathing...
Brotha Jean-Pierre Adéchi said it best:
"We have to do it for ourselves."
P.S. I am so sorry this is happening to you Fearless Fund. Let us know if there's anything we can do.
96% of venture funding ($145 billion in 2023) went to white men and it's the $20K in small grants to Black women that you find discriminatory and unconstitutional???
#ThisIsAmericahttps://lnkd.in/ez7KDpX9
We're seeing an ongoing attack on inclusive efforts and it's not pretty. Edward Blum, the attorney behind the downfall of affirmative action is now targeting Fearless Fund, a venture capital firm that helps Black women-owned businesses. Four times a year, the firm hosts a Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, which awards $20,000 to a business where a Black woman has 51% ownership.
Blum argues that the firm violates a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 because it excludes members of his non-profit, American Alliance For Equal Rights, from applying based on "racial discrimination."
Blum's non-profit is suing Fearless Fund by continuing to attack inclusion and equality. A dangerous and disappointing display when looking at the progress we've made. Prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump is taking part in the defense of the venture capital firm to help remind "enemies of equality" that the disparities and inequities are real. And Fearless Fund helps to close this gap for Black women who typically receive less than 1% of venture capital funds.
What are your thoughts on this lawsuit? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. ✨ Read the full article here: https://hubs.li/Q01-_xFz0
You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay up-to-date with all things SGO from events to what we're reading this month! 🥳🙌 https://hubs.li/Q01-_r3W0#AffirmativeAction#FearlessFund#CivilRightsAct#VentureCapital#Inclusion#DEI#DiversityEquityInclusion#SGO#SheGeeksOut
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Minority-owned businesses receive less funding than their white counterparts, especially black women who receive less than 1% of venture capital funding.
Foundations and grant-making institutions have created opportunities for equitable access to funding.
These programs have been labeled by some as "discriminatory" and are currently under legal scrutiny.
Fearless Fund has lost a major battle to provide grants to black women-owned businesses.
What does this mean for the future of grantmaking bodies like this and how will it impact the under-resourced business community?
#entrepreneurship#business#funding#underrepresented#underresourced
DEI is under attack. Arian Simone is doing such important work to address the gap that exists in VC funding for women of color led businesses, which are historically underfunded. Only 2.4% of VC funding over the past 30 years has gone to companies founded by women of any race or ethnicity. In 2020, less than 0.35% of available funds were invested in companies founded by Black women. The fight for equity continues... ✊
"Blocking targeted programs under the guise of promoting fairness is a profound misunderstanding of equity versus equality.
Equality means providing everyone with the same resources, regardless of context and particular circumstances. Equality is often illustrated by showing a short and taller person behind a fence trying to watch a baseball game. Despite being given the same size block, only the taller person can see. Equity changes the image by giving the shorter person a taller block, so that now both can see. Equity means recognizing the different needs and starting points of individuals and providing the necessary resources to achieve an equal outcome.
The court's ruling not only halts Fearless Fund’s crucial grant work but also sets a dangerous precedent that could jeopardize other equity-building initiatives across the country."
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Edward Blum...Wants to Burn it All Down For Black Women Business Owners.
The Facts:
Black women only receive "less than 0.35 percent of all VC funding"
"Only 93 Black women had ever raised over $1 million in venture capital"
"White women have received 79% of seed-stage funding categorized as deployed to diverse founders, according to an analysis of Crunchbase data."
"While white males have a staggering 93% of the venture capital funds."
The Fearless Fund Which Grants Up to $20,000 to Black Women Entrepreneurs is causing Blum substantial harm. He feels distressed knowing Black women have the Opportunity to Succeed without Cleaning his homes and Caring for his Children.
History shows anytime powerful white men "perceive" Black Americans are getting ahead when in fact this program is only leveling the playing they use a mob to burn it all down.
Except this time he is using Ultra Conservative Appeals Court Judges appointed by Donald Trump. Go Figure. Blum's attacks are Primitive and Giving Plantation Owner Vibes. Do Black Women Sue White Venture Capital Companies for Excluding Them? No, instead Strong Smart Black Women Build Companies Like the Fearless Fund to Bridge the Gap.
For those of you following the Fearless Fund lawsuit, you may have heard that earlier this week, an appellate court upheld a ruling that #FearlessFund's grant program for Black women entrepreneurs is discriminatory.
Despite the broader backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion, we at Chicago:Blend understand that #DEI is not only good for society, but also good for business. Check out why in today’s op-ed section of Crain's Chicago Business.
The decision in the Fearless Fund case is disappointing, to say the least.
In a closely watched civil rights case, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has blocked Fearless Fund from awarding $20,000 grants to businesses owned by Black women while the case is litigated. The defeat for the Atlanta firm, which aims to boost scarce venture capital funding for Black women, who received less than 1% of the $215 billion in venture capital funding last year, could have sweeping implications for race-based initiatives in the private sector and the legal challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives increasing in recent times. Fearless Fund is evaluating its options, and this preliminary ruling without a full factual record is not the final outcome in the case. The decision also raises fundamental questions about how corporate America addresses workplace inequality.
At the Rutgers Center for Women in Business (CWIB), we know there are no shortage of incredible and profitable innovations. We encourage more venture funds to invest in great ideas, and not discount them (pun intended) when they come from women and people of color.
Article: https://lnkd.in/gCnjJYPd#fearlessfund#DEI#civilrights#rutgers#cwib#womeninbusiness
Product & Operations Leader | GenAI/Agents | Technical Understanding for the non Technical Stakeholder | New Business Development |
1moLinkedIn doesn’t have an appropriate reaction emoji for this post. On the post, This shit is wild. What are they scared of?!