$942 million — or just 0.32% of total US venture funding went to companies with a Black founder or co-founder in 2025, according to Crunchbase data. The tide has turned slightly in 2025, with US-based startups founded or co-founded by a Black founder raising $643 million. Most of this funding was raised in the first quarter of the year, marking it the most raised in a single quarter since Q2 2022, when $653 million was raised by a Black founder or co-founder. However, Crunchbase highlights that this is still a
Black Women’s unemployment rate has reached 7.3% in 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last year, Black women’s unemployment rate increased from 5.1% in March to 6.1% in April, reached an all-time high of 6.2% in May, then dropped to 5.8% in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data reported by The 19th. DEI and AI affecting Black women’s employability Black women are more likely to be in departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, which have been targeted for cuts by DOGE.
The Virginian Church, Alfred Street Baptist Church, has agreed to provide financial support to the Legion of Black Collegians following the University of Missouri’s announcement that it will end funding for several organizations. In April, the university shared that the Legion of Black Collegians—its historic Black student governing body — and other minority-associated groups would no longer receive funding. Additionally, these groups will not be recognized as university-sponsored organizations, according to Inside Higher Ed. The University of Missouri scrapping funding for minority groups In April, the university announced that the
Wells Fargo will settle a $100 million lawsuit alleging discrimination in loan approvals and misrepresentation over its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, according to Banking Dive. The lawsuit states that Wells Fargo approved less than 50% of Back homeowners’ refinancing applications in 2020. It also stated that the bank held fake job interviews with women and people of color to satisfy internal DEI requirements, without a genuine intent to hire them. The settlement The bank has agreed to pay $110 million, of which $100 million will go towards the Borrower
The word “Black” has been erased from a set of bills aimed at addressing the Black maternal health crisis, according to The 19th. The Momnibus Act, which was filed in March, was called the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act in 2023, and was previously known as the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 and the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2020. Changes to the word ‘Black’ in the bill References to the word “Black” in the bill have changed over time. In 2020, the text included numerous references to Black women. These were
PayPal and the Department of Justice have agreed to a settlement concerning the company’s 2020 DEI initiative, which invested in Black and minority businesses. PayPal is required to launch a new Small Business Initiative that excludes characteristics such as race, according to a press release. “This Department of Justice is delivering on President Trump’s vow to root out illegal DEI from every corner of corporate America,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. PayPal’s settlement with the Department of Justice In 2020, PayPal announced the discriminatory Economic Opportunity Fund, which provided $530
IBM has agreed to pay $17 million to the US Department of Justice to settle allegations of illegal DEI practices, as CNN reported. The DOJ believes that the tech company engaged in illegal DEI practices” by factoring in “race, color, national origin, or sex” when hiring or promoting employees. The settlement “IBM is pleased to have resolved this matter. Our workforce strategy is driven by a single principle: having the right people with the right skills that our clients depend on,” an IBM spokesperson told TechCrunch. In May 2025, the
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from asking universities to collect race information when admitting new students, according to Reuters. Colleges that participate in federal student financial programs were asked to share data on students’ race and sex. The department would use the information to monitor its compliance with the US Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that ended affirmative action in higher education. But US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston issued a temporary restraining order. Trump’s adminstration asking colleges to collect data about race The data
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is scrapping grants helping farmers secure land, according to POLITICO. Around $300 million was set aside to support nonprofits, tribal governments, and other organizations. These programs were created by The Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program and gave underrepresented farms access to capital, planning, and efforts to reduce land loss. A letter shared with POLITICO said that the program “involved discriminatory preferences based on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” and “wasteful spending.” Scrapping grants for underserved farmers “USDA will prioritize unity, equality, meritocracy, and color-blindness in furtherance
A judge has granted two Black women permission to proceed with their lawsuit against McDonald’s, Reuters reported. In the lawsuit, Victoria Guster-Hines and Domineca, two former McDonald’s VPs, claim that they faced discrimination because they were Black women and forced to leave after speaking up. The lawsuit is filed against McDonald’s USA, LLC; McDonald’s Corp.; Steven Easterbrook; Christopher Kempczinski; and Charles Strong. In a 2020 lawsuit, a regional president critiqued “Black woman attitude” and said that one of the plaintiffs and other McDonald’s employees were “angry Black women,” according to
