Who gets to achieve the American Dream?

Extremists who dismantled affirmative action are going after Black women entrepreneurs now.

This week we chatted with Sophia Danner-Okotie, owner of Besida, an online African clothing store. Besida unites women worldwide to Africa's beauty through their selection of handcrafted garments from Nigeria. Listen to the episode here! 

Sophia talks about Fearless Fund, one of the firms that awarded her a grant and helped her propel her business. Venture capital firms like Fearless Fund are incredibly important because Black women entrepreneurs receive less than 1% of venture capital funding. Arian Simone and Ayana Parsons, the founders, are committed to making sure that women of color get the support and the funding they need to grow their businesses so they can achieve the American dream and close the wealth gap. One of the grants they offer is the Strivers Grant Contest. It runs four times a year and to be eligible, a business must be at least 51% owned by a Black woman, among other qualifications.

(Photo credit: Tim Caver)

Currently, their firm is under legal attack by extremists claiming that grant programs like the Strivers Grant Contest that are focused on women of color are “unfair.” 

The lawsuit was filed in August of 2023 by the nonprofit, American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum. The court granted its request for an injunction and shut down the grant program while the lawsuit proceeds.

If you haven’t heard of Edward Blum - you need to know his name. He is the man behind the Supreme Court case that rejected affirmative action in university admissions last summer and he’s been on a mission to create a colorblind society for decades. When asked about the lawsuit, Arian Simone, Co-Founder of Fearless Fund, said “Honestly, I actually have the same belief as the plaintiff. I would like a world where race-based things do not matter. But guess what - we live in America, and there are disparities that have to be solved for us to get to that point.”

On January 31, 2024, Fearless Fund asked a three-judge panel in a U.S. federal court of appeals to lift the injunction against the Strivers Grant Contest.

The next step could be taking the case to the Supreme Court and Arian Simone told CBS Mornings that if it goes to the Supreme Court, they won’t have a choice but to defend their stance. 

Like Fearless Fund, we too believe that everyone has the right to achieve the American dream.