The result could very well set a lasting precedent for how the entire startup ecosystem evolves.
Dominic-Madori Davis
11 hours
The first official piece of policy around diversity efforts in venture capital may soon see the light of day, but not because of any action by the government.
In a complaint filed this week, the American Alliance for Equal Rights — founded by conservative activist Edward Blum, the man driving the effort to end affirmative action — sued a minority-focused venture capital fund for unlawful racial discrimination.
In the complaint, the organization accuses Fearless Fund (an early-stage venture capital firm based in Atlanta that focuses on funding solely to women founders of color) of racially discriminating against non-Black individuals by having a $20,000 grant program for only Black women who are small-business owners.
The program is the Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, and the fund hosts it four times a year in partnership with Mastercard. The American Alliance for Equal Rights alleges that Fearless Fund is violating Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act, which states that private contracts must be made and enforced without reg …
