Conservative activist Edward Blum seems obsessed with dismantling everything related to giving minorities opportunities. It’s so weird. He was part of the stupid challenge to affirmative action in colleges and universities that was ruled on by the Supreme Court earlier this year. Now, his group American Alliance for Equal Rights has launched a lawsuit against venture capital firm Fearless Fund.
Fearless Fund, based in Atlanta, GA, is being sued for allegedly giving $20,000 to only Black women via their small business grant program. The very insecure Blum and his group are upset and claim that this is racially discriminatory. A week ago, the two sides met in a federal court where the Alliance asked Judge Thrash, Jr. to stop their racial eligibility criteria for business grants. Such a wack move to be honest. Why go after this group? I mean we know why, but the blatant targeting of racial minorities is just ridiculous. People like Blum are searching out these groups to attack in the hopes of ruining their businesses while taking down anything related to affirmative action with the hopes of creating lasting precedents. Thrash, Jr. rightfully denied their motion citing freedom of speech. He said that Fearless Fund is using this program to show their support for Black women business owners and that is a form of protected free speech. In his opinion, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he stated that Blum’s group “failed to carry its burden to clearly show a likelihood of success on the merits and irreparable harm.” That wasn’t good enough for them, though.
Quickly after that ruling, the American Alliance filed an emergency motion where the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and a judges’ panel overturned the ruling from Judge Thrash, Jr. Two of the judges were on the Alliance’s side and one was on the side of Fearless Fund. The judges’ ruling for the grievances of white people, said “The plaintiffs have established an irreparable injury.” It is amazing that, with all of the things going on in this country, giving grants to people who are historically discriminated against is seen as causing irreparable injury.
Fearless Fund’s lawyers say that they will continue to fight, as they should! Conservatives love finding a target in sticking with it. We see this in their strategy to scapegoat trans people and we see this in their lawsuits against anyone who seeks to right injustices. Recently, Blum and his allies went after two private law firms for offering paid legal fellowships to people who are part of historically underrepresented groups in the legal profession. The outrage! As a side point, I thought Conservatives were all about freedom. I thought they supported the rights of business owners. They say these things all of the time to gaslight Americans into not voting for those “anti-Capitalist Democrats!” Here, though, we had private law firms who were choosing to do what they wanted with their money. But Blum couldn’t stand it. The case against Fearless Fund shows the exact same thing. Right-wing activists are trying to tell private businesses how to spend their money. It’s something they criticize the left for doing.
The hypocrisy doesn’t stop there. Conservatives have no moral center, everything is dependent upon who is affected by the issue. For example, they want the private baker to have the freedom to not bake a gay cake because it goes against their personal or religious beliefs. But that same baker cannot spend the business’s money to help minorities because that goes against their belief that there is no racism. Did I get that right? It makes zero sense.
Blum isn’t the only racist masquerading as an equal rights advocate. Similar conservative groups have gone after corporations like McDonald’s and Target. I mean, how much did we hear over the summer about Target’s pride section? God forbid a straight person is forced to see a rainbow existing outside of the sky! These stances aren’t about freedom or equality; they are about instilling fear and othering minorities. These nut jobs only want freedom if it can be manipulated to tear down marginalized groups, but not if it goes to help them. That is an extremely harmful and racist strategy, and it should be phrased that way so everyone can see it for what it is.
(featured image: screenshot/CBS Mornings)
