Concerns about the future have intensified as Donald Trump prepares to be sworn in as the 47th U.S. president. The Washington Post reports minority- and women-owned businesses have looming concerns over contracts, citing a potential loss of $70 billion in annual contracts amid legal disputes affecting government programs for “disadvantaged” firms. Within the Black community, legal issues were prevalent amid Fearless Fund’s ongoing litigation, which has now been settled. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the firm, led by founding partner Arian Simone, was sued by Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights group in August 2023 over its Strivers Grant program. The $20,000 grant backed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mastercard had been aimed at small businesses primarily owned by Black women, and the activist group accused the investment firm of “explicit racial exclusion.” The group had already been victorious in the Supreme Court over race-based affirmative action policies....

Direct payouts from the Biden administration will be allocated to Black farmers who have faced discrimination. ABC News reports Black farmers acknowledge that they have been discriminated against by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) when it comes to loans. The outlet notes many had been denied loans or received loans that were less than their white counterparts. Some that did receive loans had even reported having their property foreclosed on sooner than was typical when they experienced issues paying. Denial was the case for Wardell Carter, whose family has owned 85 acres of land in Mississippi since 1939. Yet despite their longevity, they have never been able to access a loan application. Instead, they were greeted by USDA loan officers with a slammed door, and if they persisted they were faced with the reality of having a cop called to their home, he says. Due to these challenges, it prevented the family from purchasing a tractor for years. So, they had to rely on a horse...

Fearless Fund has been barred temporarily from providing funding to Black entrepreneurs. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the venture capital fund had been sued by Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights group in August 2023 for “explicit racial exclusion” by creating a grant program dedicated solely to Black women, The Washington Post shares. Initially, U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash had ruled in favor of Fearless Fund, but the verdict was blocked by a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Sept. 30, 2023. Fearless Fund, looking to retract the verdict, filed to appeal the September ruling. In the most recent update, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has temporarily blocked Fearless Fund from continuing its efforts to support Black women entrepreneurs with funding, CNN reports . The panel judges ruled the Fearless Fund’s Fearless Strivers Grant Contest is “substantially likely to violate” Title 42 of the US Code’s provisions,...

Colorado is taking a stand to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace. On May 8, 2024, the Colorado General Assembly passed Senate Bill 24-205 (SB205), Forbes reports. In the bill’s summary, it wrote that it “requires a developer of a high-risk artificial intelligence system (high-risk system) to use reasonable care to avoid algorithmic discrimination in the high-risk system.” Moreover, the bill described high-risk artificial intelligence systems as any machine-based system that plays a role in consequential decisions being made in education enrollment and education opportunities, employment and employment opportunities, financial and lending services, essential government services, healthcare services, housing, insurance, or legal services. According to Forbes, the bill marks Colorado as the first U.S. state to establish a comprehensive law that not only addresses utilizing AI in employment but also in other critical sectors. On May 17, Governor of Colorado Jared...

A new move made by a group of education officials in North Carolina has the power to do a state-wide sweep of programs committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at public universities. According to The News & Observer, the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors’ University Governance Committee has approved “a policy that repeals the university system’s existing policy and regulation on diversity and inclusion.” The move will reportedly disband laws in place requiring all 17 public campuses within the state of North Carolina to employ diversity officers as well as drive efforts toward a common goal of fulfilling diversity-related measures. A University of North Carolina System Board of Governors committee voted in favor of policy that would eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion jobs at NC public universities. There was no discussion. https://t.co/9xQvXJFFG8 — philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 18, 2024 Per the Raleigh, NC-based outlet, the committee held...

Duke University is the latest higher educational institute to make a change following the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action in admissions. According to its student publication The Chronicle, the North Carolina college has officially discontinued its Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship Program. Since its inception in 1979, the merit scholarship was created for Black undergraduates, some of whom were required to demonstrate the need for financial assistance. It covered the cost of full tuition as well as room and board for those who were selected to be a part of the program. Duke University announced it is ending a full-ride scholarship program for Black students in the wake of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling https://t.co/dNK2Rst99y — philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 12, 2024 “It is very much disheartening to hear that this program that opened the door for me to come to Duke is now being closed essentially, even though it will take on a new...

Terrence Howard is set on pushing forward with a legal battle regarding his Hollywood earnings. As previously shared by AFROTECH™, the Oscar-nominated actor filed a lawsuit against the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in December 2023. Howard claims that the agency prompted him to accept talent fees that were less than what he should’ve received. For starring in the hit TV series, “Empire,” he allegedly earned 30% to 50% less than what he should have earned per episode. “We expect our agents and our lawyers to look after us, and therefore we’re free to do all of the work that you guys enjoy so much,” Howard expressed during a press conference that year. “I trusted CAA to look after me, and they looked after themselves.” During the press conference, Howard noted that he wasn’t entirely certain that the lowball pay was due to a “racial issue.” However, now, he has come forward to not only further address the elephant in the room but also detail what he believes he’s owed. In an interview...

A Texas telecom company just lost a $70 million federal discrimination lawsuit. Atlanta Black Star reports that Glow Networks Inc. and its parent company, CSS Corp, exposed nine Black employees — and one white employee who advocated on behalf of his Black co-workers — to what can only be summarized as a hostile work environment tinged with more than a bit of racism. And based on the facts of the case, that’s the height of understatement. “Court documents reveal there were originally fourteen members in the group suing Glow Networks, Inc., alleging that they had ‘both tangible actions, such as terminations and denials of promotions, and on the alleged creation of a hostile work environment,'” reports the outlet. Initially, fourteen employees brought the federal discrimination suit against the telecom company. However, only ten employees ultimately were awarded damages — the other four’s claims were dismissed by the court. For Yarbrough, though, it was the principle of the matter. “We...