EGA President and CEO
On Monday, the U.S. federal court of appeals ordered the suspension of the Fearless Foundation’s Strivers Grant Fund for Black female entrepreneurs on the basis of a claim of racial discrimination.
To provide context, the claim is that a Venture Capital contest violates Section 1981, of the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race when enforcing contracts. The Reconstruction-era law was intended to protect formally [legally] enslaved people from economic exclusion. Because apartheid is wrong in every instance.
The Fearless decision relies on blatant revision of that historical context, and erases the present day impacts of a defensive law by giving legal weight to criticism by a few about the rights of the many. This matter comes on the heels of recent rulings tinged with generational malice; and pretends a reasoned result could come from wordplay meant to disguise prejudice--plain and simple.
Across this rash of upper and lower court rulings is a cold war for souls, all of them. With each ruling against autonomy, against support, against opportunity and against choice, we’re witnessing the weaponization of humanity, to stop care and community for points, chits, chads and resources.
In the face of an increasingly hostile environment for care, EGA reaffirms our support for the humanization of racialized communities as necessary partners in civil society. EGA is committed to the enabling conditions of a just transition for people and planet. And we are here to support our members in a practice of solidarity in grantmaking that addresses the root causes of environmental injustice, today for tomorrow.
The trajectory of the Fearless determination makes it more dangerous to be vulnerable while simultaneously increasing likelihood of vulnerability. Now is the time for each of us to tap into the power of our voices instead of choosing the violence of silence. The reality of repeal of the rule of law is that it serves up those who fought hundreds of years of extraction, legalized isolation, molestation, separation and economic exclusion.
The work of belonging is a group project. EGA will support our members in navigating this regressive environment to advance just resource redistribution. Our Racial Equity POV is our North Star to operationalizing sector-wide racial equity as a practice of humanity in environmental grantmaking. We will continue to assess and respond to the threats to climate, democracy, racial equity, and human rights at our next convening in Stevenson, Washington.
Now is the time to be a fearless ally to yourself by standing with disenfranchised Black women, racialized, again and left to defend our status. Now is not the time to turn tail and keep score on the road to ruin. The future starts now.
In care,
Tamara
Tamara Toles O’Laughlin
President and CEO
Environmental Grantmakers Association
