Fearless Fund Settles It - Bullies Lose
When I was in high school I was bullied. I will admit it was incredibly scary. My bully glued my locker shut. He sent disturbing letters. Often as I walked around the school, he followed me. I tried to reason with him, but nothing I said or did made a difference. In fact, the more I engaged with him, the more he escalated his inappropriate behavior. I finally had to bring these challenges to school leadership, and he was told to leave me alone.
In the movies, there is usually a seminal scene where the protagonist confronts the bully, often surrounded by cheering onlookers. The protagonist’s behavior encourages others to stand up for themselves and the bully loses power and shirks off never to be heard from again. Since life is not a movie, I never experienced that. My bully and I settled our issues quietly behind the scenes. And although the two of us were no longer allowed to interact, I was able to do all of the important things on campus. I could participate in school activities. I could go to class. I could hang out with my friends. I could do everything I was doing before except now, I didn’t have to look over my shoulder worrying about what he would do next. And he lost any power or control he had over me.
Similarly, the settlement between the Fearless Fund and the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) is a case of legal bullying that failed. According to Alphonso David, one of the lead attorneys representing the Fearless Fund: “The agreement is very narrow and does not restrict or relate to any other investment or charitable activity of the Fearless Fund or the Foundation going forward.” The leaders of the Fearless Fund will continue their mission to invest in organizations and continue to close the indefensible funding gap that exists for under-resourced entrepreneurs, especially Black founders.
This case proves that anti-DEI legal bullying tactics have no merit in court.
Let us be clear: the result of this case is not a setback for those who care about achieving economic opportunity for all Americans. In fact, AAER has lost time and again. Their goal has been to change legal precedent to actively stop people from supporting diversity. In this goal, they have not succeeded. Like any bully, they continue to use intimidation practices to scare leaders. But these are no more than scare tactics. They do everything possible to keep power in the hands of the people who have it, and are willing to spend time and money to slow progress.
They have falsely claimed that the Fearless Fund case shows that “race-exclusive programs like the one the Fearless Fund promoted are divisive and illegal.” This is not true! It is still legal to invest in and provide grants to diverse founders. It is still legal to focus on hiring diverse talent. It is still legal to invest in a diverse supply chain. And frankly, despite the Supreme Court admissions decision on affirmative action, it is still legal to focus on diversity on college campuses beyond on admissions. Colleges and universities can still promote affinity groups, create pipelines to internships, and much more. And we know that a holistic approach to diversity benefits everyone and improves results.
By settling, the Fearless Fund has starved AAER of the oxygen needed to escalate the case in ways that create dangerous legal precedent for all of us. And because of this and other cases, AAER has exposed itself as a bully that fears an America that lives up to its ideals of economic opportunity for all.
As leaders, we now find ourselves with a choice. Do we stand on the sidelines as onlookers who allow bullies to intimidate us or do we embrace Fearless Fund’s example as a clarion call for business leaders, investors, and all who have never before had a seat at the table, to keep doing this work?
I, for one, will not back down until every American has economic opportunity, regardless of their identity. Because our country is founded on the ideal of opportunity for everyone. No exceptions.
