American Alliance for Equal Rights Warns Knox County that Supplier-Diversity Program Violates Federal and State Civil-Rights Laws
November 4, 2025 (Austin, TX) – Today, the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) announced that it has sent a formal letter to the Knox County Commission warning that the County’s “supplier-diversity” program likely violates the U.S. Constitution and federal civil-rights laws.
The letter is attached.
The Alliance’s letter urges Knox County to eliminate policies that encourage contractors to favor or “take affirmative action” toward minority-owned businesses in hiring and subcontracting. The Alliance notes that such requirements unlawfully pressure private companies to consider race in employment and contracting decisions—actions the Supreme Court has made clear are impermissible.
The letter cites Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), in which the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Equal Protection Clause prohibits racial classifications, directly or indirectly. The Alliance also references rulings from federal appellate courts, including the Fifth, Ninth, and D.C. Circuits, that have struck down similar programs which encourage private entities to adopt race-based criteria.
AAER’s letter highlights that Knox County’s program appears to rest on Executive Order 11246, a policy rescinded in January 2025 by Executive Order 14173. The repeal order explicitly condemned race- and sex-based preferences in contracting as “dangerous,” “demeaning,” and “illegal.”
The Alliance’s letter urges Knox County to immediately remove all race-based mandates from its procurement regulations and warns that, if the County refuses, the organization will request the Tennessee Attorney General’s Civil Rights Enforcement Division to take enforcement action, including litigation.
The American Alliance for Equal Rights is a national nonprofit membership association dedicated to ensuring equal treatment under the law and opposing racial discrimination in all forms. Since 2021, the Alliance has successfully challenged over two dozen race-exclusive contracting, fellowship, employment, and grant programs nationwide.
Edward Blum, president of the American Alliance for Equal Rights, said, “Knox County’s supplier-diversity mandates encourage contractors to sort people by race, something the Constitution and our civil-rights laws flatly forbid. Knox County’s procurement policies should be updated to reflect that simple and enduring principle.”
Contact:
Edward Blum
edwardjayblum@gmail.com