ATLANTA — Editor's Note: The above video is from a previous version of this story.
Attorneys for the Atlanta Black-women led grant program have filed an appeal to a lawsuit claiming racial discrimination on Wednesday.
American Alliance of Equal Rights (AAER) filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleging that a Fearless Fund program providing grants to Black women to grow their businesses violates federal civil rights law.
The appeal, which was filed by prominent civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, states that the founders of the grant program did not violate the law.
"The Alliance seeks to enjoin a grant and mentorship program designed to 'bridge the gap in venture capital funding' that Black women entrepreneurs face as a result of historical discrimination," said the appeal.
The lawsuit appears to be part of a movement against the use of race-based policies in many aspects of American life, including business. The Fearless Fund aims to address racial and gender inequities in venture funding by investing in women-of-color-owned businesses.
Arian Simone and Ayana Parsons are both general partner funds to the program, according to its website.
Court documents then make an argument for the foundation where it details the demographics for Black women who are entrepreneurs.
According to the 2019 Non-employer Statistics by Demographics from the U.S. Census Bureau, at least 12.7% of all women-owned Black businesses were Black or African American owned.
The federal appeal also states that women of color often times face more obstacles finding money to start their own business. It mentions Simone's own struggle of finding funding for her own startup and how the program grew.
Court documents also claimed that the company did not violated the First Amendment or any other federal civil rights laws for creating a space for Black woman entrepreneurs.
It also revealed that the pending litigation interfered with their grant program for this year leading them to make changes to their officials rules.
The Fearless Fund and Fearless Foundation released the following statement:
“Women of color-owned businesses are a vital, growing sector to our economy yet received less than one percent of venture capital funding,” said Arian Simone, CEO and Founding Partner of Fearless Fund. “Our legal team filed a brief in support of our First Amendment right to voice our view that these women of color-owned businesses need to be supported, and that we are aligned with them through the Fearless Foundation’s Strivers Grant Program. We will fight fearlessly to protect these businesses, the dreams of their founders, and our right to express this viewpoint, against any and all legal challenges.”
Oral arguments for the case will begin on January 31, 2024, according to court documents.