Grant program for Black women entrepreneurs blocked by federal appeals court

By ALEXANDRA OLSON
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court has temporarily halted a venture capital firm’s grant program for businesses run by Black women. The 2-1 decision by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily prevents the Fearless Fund from running the grant program. In a statement Sunday, the Atlanta-based Fearless Fund said it would comply with the order but remained confident of prevailing in the lawsuit, which was brought by conservative activist Edward Blum’s American Alliance for Equal Rights. The order issued Saturday reversed an earlier ruling that denied the alliance’s request to halt the program.