Oregon coronavirus fund may violate Constitution by excluding non-black applicants, experts say

A COVID-19 relief fund for African-Americans operated out of Portland, Ore., with federal tax dollars may run afoul of both the Constitution and 1964 Civil Rights Act if it excludes non-black applicants, legal experts warn.

The Oregon Cares Fund for Black Relief + Resiliency said it seeks to offer "economic relief for the Black community, who are among Oregon's most vulnerable groups due to systemic divestment and disparities widened and exacerbated by COVID-19." The program is administered by two local nonprofits, the Contingent and the Black United Fund of Oregon.

"The Oregon Cares Fund is designed and led by Black leaders for the Black community," the program's website states. The funds are "meant to provide the Black community with the resources it needs to weather the global health pandemic and consequent recession," according to the site.

 "The Oregon Cares Fund is for Black people, Black-owned businesses, and Black community based organizations," the site states, noting elsewhere that the $62 million in funds it receives are drawn as a grant "from the U.S. Treasury's disbursement of Coronavirus Relief Funds received by the State of Oregon under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act."