Conservative Activists Challenge Workplace Equity Programs Using Civil Rights Act of 1866
NEW YORK — Opponents of workplace diversity programs are increasingly using a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to challenge equity policies and funding for minority-owned businesses. Section 1981 of the act, originally intended to protect formerly enslaved people from economic exclusion, is now being weaponized by conservative activists, who are citing it in lawsuits against companies and institutions. The American Alliance for Equal Rights, run by conservative activist Edward Blum, is using Section 1981 to go after the Fearless Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in businesses owned by women of … Read more