The move against affirmative action in Biglaw, which we have been discussing for some time, demonstrates a larger trend impacting different business sectors, with the recent case of SFFA v. Harvard pointing to a more widespread shift. An instance of this trend is evident in Texas, where affirmative action is being phased out. According to Bloomberg Law, a federal judge ruled that a Commerce Department agency for minority-owned businesses must start serving all races, marking a significant legal blow to the Biden administration.
In his ruling, Judge Mark T. Pittman of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas concluded that the Minority Business Development Agency, which has been in operation for 55 years, violates the US Constitution’s equal protection clause by discriminating against White business owners. He dismissed the Biden administration’s attempts to uphold the agency’s mission, asserting that constitutional rights cannot be violated with impunity.
Turning to the legalization of marijuana as an example, we can observe the complications of trying to address root causes of inequality. The arrests around marijuana usage have financially supported police departments and prisons for years to such an extent that there have been carve outs to back law enforcement departments that are losing revenue due to lessened crackdowns on users. Reports show that Black people have disproportionately endured the brunt of marijuana arrests during the ongoing drug war. Although there was a brief belief that the legal weed market might offer a chance for Black-owned enterprises to mainstream their operations, this optimism was short-lived. Instead, The Guardian reports that the legal marijuana market is dominantly white-owned—90% of cannabis industry executives were white in 2021, according to Business Insider. This is just one example; The Seattle Times highlights that venture capitalists continually discriminate against Black startups.
These developments suggest that the battle around racial issues persists in the business arena. Attempts to rectify historical imbalances, rather than root causes of inequality, appear to be under threat. More details on this matter can be found in the Bloomberg Law article.
For more insights into this topic, our coverage from earlier this month, titled ‘The Affirmative Action Cases Went About As Well As You’d Expect Them To. What Now?’, can shed additional light on this subject matter.