Group Sued Over Loans to Black-Owned Businesses in Knoxville - Articles

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Group Sued Over Loans to Black-Owned Businesses in Knoxville

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Dec 15, 2025

The American Alliance for Equal Rights filed a federal lawsuit against the Women of Knoxville and its nonprofit community fund, The Women Foundation, claiming the group’s initiative to provide small loans to Black-owned businesses is discriminatory, Knox News reports. The program requires applicants’ businesses to be at least 51% Black-owned. In September, a white woman affiliated with the alliance sued the nonprofits in federal court, arguing the program discriminates by awarding money exclusively to Black-owned businesses. The funds, raised through private fundraising, do not include taxpayer dollars. The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Global Black Economic Forum have joined the lawsuit defending the Knoxville organizations. On Nov. 4, the alliance sent a letter to Knox County commissioners threatening legal action against the county. The nonprofits said the alliance misreads federal law and showed a “willful disregard” for the program’s specifics, adding that private charitable funds are not subject to the review the group seeks.