In issuing an injunction, the appellate panel sided with a conservative group that alleges the Fearless Fund’s program amounts to reverse discrimination.
A panel of federal appellate judges on Saturday stopped an Atlanta-based venture fund from awarding $20,000 grants to Black female entrepreneurs for now.
The injunction issued by a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit prevents the Fearless Fund from closing its application window. The fund was sued this summer by a conservative group alleging reverse discrimination.Saturday’s decision temporarily reverses a Tuesday order by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, who denied the a request by the plaintiff, American Alliance for Equal Rights, to halt the grant awards process.
In August, the alliance, led by conservative activist Edward Blum, sued the Fearless Fund, alleging that its program granting money solely to Black female business owners illegally discriminates on the basis of race. That lawsuit was filed a month after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively banned race-conscious college admissions, through rulings on cases Blum initiated against Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
A separate 11th Circuit panel will now decide whether the Fearless Fund will be blocked from awarding money under its Fearless Strivers Grant Contest while the case is litigated in district court. The panel’s Saturday decision merely halt’s the grant process while that separate panel decides. It’s unclear when that determination will be made.
“We respectfully disagree with the decision, appreciate the important points made by the dissent, and look forward to further appellate review," said Jason Schwartz, a lawyer with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which is representing the Fearless Fund."We remain committed to defending our clients’ meaningful work.”
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