All throughout U.S. history, there has been a backlash (or as some people say, a white lash) that seeks to erode or eliminate any advances for historically marginalized groups, following a civil rights breakthrough or any form of socio-political-economic progress. For example, during the Reconstruction Era, when Congress passed the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, there were subsequent state and federal policies such as the Separate but Equal Doctrine aimed to circumvent civil liberties and sabotage social-economic progress.

For many of us, SCOTUS’ affirmative action rulings in 2023 are a part of that long history to disrupt and impede progress. In this instance, following the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and other people of color in 2020, we saw an unparalleled uprise in public support and stances against racism. Foundations increased payout to fund racial justice efforts; local and state governments declared racism a public health crisis; and many companies deployed hundreds of millions of dollars in support of race-based initiatives and projects.

Today, states are banning DEI initiatives and companies are cutting DEI positions and programs, but — according to CEP’s Research Snapshot, How Foundations are Responding to the U.S. Supreme Court Affirmative Action Rulings — a “majority of foundations are not making changes to their ongoing work” in spite of SCOTUS’ affirmative action rulings. This data point is particularly encouraging, especially given the widespread anecdotal stories about “DEI fatigue” or foundations halting funding in fear of potential lawsuits for supporting DEI and/or social justice initiatives.

The Vital Role of Reality Checks

After SCOTUS’ majority ruling in June 2023, this was my fear: anti-DEI antagonists and fearmongers would weaponize the holding in SCOTUS’ majority opinion and erroneously extend it beyond the specific facts and context of the affirmative action cases to justify and proliferate their anti-DEI agenda in other areas of society. In fact, even prior to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, in September 2023, to block the Fearless Fund from only considering applications from Black women for a grant program, I heard a few stories about foundations being reluctant to hire BIPOC asset managers or support BIPOC-led consulting firms due to SCOTUS’ affirmative action rulings.

Apparently, some foundations were operating under the falsehood that SCOTUS’ elimination of race-conscious admission policies also prohibited funders from considering race when hiring professional service vendors. I have also heard stories about local and state governments using SCOTUS’ ruling to thwart Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) programs and restrict access to public contracts. In an era of heightened misinformation, news deserts and media manipulation, it is vitally important for foundations to support media literacy programs, journalism, and democracy building. Without reliable and truthful news and information, we will never be able to achieve racial justice, climate justice or a full-fledged, multi-cultural democracy.

Read the full article about responding to the Supreme Court’s affirmative action rulings by Anthony Richardson at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.