by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
August 6, 2024
Black women entrepreneurs discuss how the anti-DEI movement could potentially impact the future of Black business.
With rising threats limiting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) funding, Black women entrepreneurs are expressing their fears and strategies to handle this growing issue.
A cohort of 70 Black entrepreneurs, the majority being women, participated in the conversation regarding the future of their businesses. As DEI initiatives remain under attack, crucial funding is now in limbo. This current dilemma limits how many companies can stay in operation and get off the ground.
The discussion by tech CEO Barbara Jones-Brown pointed to a particular lawsuit that has paused the distribution of Fearless Funds grants to Black women entrepreneurs.
“There are grant programs that are giving people $100,000, $200,000, and $500,000. They were giving ($20,000), and they get attacked,” said Jones-Brown, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s all calculated. All of this stuff is strategic…They know exactly what they’re doing to dismantle all of this.”
The lawsuit, filed by an Edward Blum-led conservative group, claimed that its $20k grant contest to support Black women entrepreneurs was “discriminatory.” The Fearless Fund’s mission of investing in women-owned companies has been stunted amid the legal battle.
Jones-Brown’s own success also stemmed from DEI funding. She scaled her own business, Freeing Returns, through the help of Black-led funds. The funding efforts gained traction after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, which prompted nationwide protests and a cultural shift to uplift the Black community.
“A lot of Black-led funds got created that year,” explained Jones-Brown. “So, I was pitching to Black women, Black men, and they heard me; they saw me.”
However, the shift now leans in the opposite direction, with a conservative movement to disband DEI programs. The movement ignores the fact that funding barriers continue to persist for minority-owned companies. According to a 2021 study by the Minority Business Development Agency, Black entrepreneurs were 13% more likely to use their personal finances to alleviate business struggles than their white counterparts.
“These organizations, funds and programs are set up to address the disparity between brown and Black communities and women,” explained Donna Ennis, director of community engagement for the Georgia MBDA Business Center. “Because when you do the research even on women companies, no matter what color, they’re significantly underfunded as well.”
All hope is not lost, with some lenders understanding that specifically helping diverse entrepreneurs keeps them around. However, the most significant factor in maintaining one’s business is having the sales to sustain it.
“We need to really focus on getting a lot of our money through sales, not just from investments and grants and non-dilutive funding,” Jones-Brown said. “That’s wonderful to get you started, but we need business. We are in business to make money.”
One can expect this anti-DEI movement to wage on. Despite this issue, Black women entrepreneurs continue to rally together and advocate for the importance of diverse funding.
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