Appellate Court Strikes Down Racial and Gender Preferences in Covid Relief

After convening several virtual meetings, the civic leaders proposed a bold and novel solution that state lawmakers approved in July. The state would earmark $62 million of its $1.4 billion in federal Covid-19 relief money to provide grants to Black residents, business owners and community organizations enduring pandemic-related hardships.

Notably, the black population in Oregon is around 2%, but the amount set aside is slightly over 4%, which may give plaintiffs grounds to challenge the allocation.