Furious The Wire star Wendell Pierce unleashes on white landlord who refused to rent him Harlem apartment – as he unleashes at ‘racist and bigots’

Celebrated actor Wendell Pierce revealed in a tweet that he was recently denied the right to rent an apartment in Harlem by a white landlord, despite meeting all the requirements.

Pierce, 60, shared the anecdote after ranting about a federal appeals court panel, which he called part of a “MAGA agenda” that suspended a venture capital firm’s grant program for Black women entrepreneurs.

The court ruled that a conservative group that files a lawsuit against the Fearless Fund claiming discrimination is likely to succeed.

“Racism and bigots are real. There are people who will do anything to destroy the life journey of black people. If you deny our personal experiences, you are just as despicable and despicable,” The Wire star wrote.

“For those of you who don’t understand my righteous anger; I’m in two TV series, ELSBETH and RAISING KANAN. I’m filming SUPERMAN. Two years ago I finished the fourth season of JACK RYAN. Last year I finished a run on Broadway in the death of a salesman.’

Wendell Pierce shared his experiences following a recent court decision that forced the Fearless Fund to end a program that benefited Black women

Pierce, 60, listed just some of his credits when describing how he was denied an application to rent an apartment

Pierce was on his exuberant rant on X on Monday

The actor also covered what he saw as similar dark moments in black history, including the burning of Black Wall Street in Tulsa

“Even with my proof of employment, bank statements and real estate ownership, a white apartment owner denied my application to rent the apartment… in Harlem, of all places. Racism and bigots are real.”

“There are people who will do anything to destroy the journey of Black people. To deny our personal experiences is to be just as vile and despicable,” Pierce continued.

The ruling against the Atlanta-based Fearless Fund is another victory for conservative groups waging an extensive legal battle against corporate diversity programs that have targeted dozens of companies and government agencies.

The case against the Fearless Fund was filed last year by the American American Alliance for Equal Rights, a group led by Edward Blum, the conservative activist behind the Supreme Court case that ended affirmative action in college admissions.

Blum applauded the ruling, saying that “programs that exclude certain individuals because of their race, like the one the Fearless Fund designed and implemented, are unjust and polarizing.”

Pierce took a sharp view of the court’s decision.

‘Private investments in black businesses are blocked by laws that aim to prevent discrimination against black businesses. The racist irony. Racist, bigoted, fascist Americans who burned down Black Wall Street in Tulsa a hundred years ago are still alive and kicking,” he continued.

The actor then mocked the Conservatives’ claimed ethos of removing government from citizens’ daily lives.

Co-founders and CEOs of The Fearless Fund Arian Simone, center left, and Ayana Parsons, center right, speak to reporters outside the federal courthouse in Miami

Anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum defended the lawsuit that ended Fearless Future’s program

Pierce was one of the stars of the groundbreaking HBO series The Wire, seen here in an iconic scene with the late Michael K. Williams

“The agenda of the GOP, the right wing and the MAGA makes it clear that their vision for America does not include Black people having the same rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” he said.

“In their America, we are even allowed to exercise our right to self-determination and build things with their intentions to destroy them.”

“It makes me sick, the lengths you will go to destroy our ability to live our lives in peace and prosperity.”

“Attacked in schools, attacked by police, attacked because they expected to live up to the values ​​of this country, and attacked when they were successful in business,” he said.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. For generations we have embraced that lie, while the violence against our community proves otherwise. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stay in denial. America,” Pierce added.

Judge Robin Rosenbaum, an Obama appointee, dissented from the court’s decision in a blistering dissent. He compared the plaintiffs’ damages claims to football players trying to win by “flopping on the field and feigning an injury.”

Rosenbaum said none of the plaintiffs showed they had any real intent to apply for the grants in what she called “cookie-cutter statements” that were “threaded and devoid of substance.”

Judge Robin Rosenbaum, an Obama appointee, dissented from the court’s decision in a blistering dissent

Fearless Fund CEO and founder Arian Simone said the ruling was “devastating” for the organizations and women it has invested in.

“The message these justices sent today is that diversity should not exist in corporate America, education or anywhere else,” she said in a statement. “These judges bought what a small group of white men sold.”

Alphonso David, legal counsel for the Fearless Fund and president and CEO of The Global Black Economic Forum, said all options are being evaluated to proceed with the lawsuit.

Legal efforts to dismantle workplace diversity programs have also suffered setbacks, due to polarized opinions among liberal and conservative justices on the issue.

Last week, for example, a federal district judge in Ohio dismissed a lawsuit against the insurance company Progressive and the fintech platform Hello Alice, challenging a program that provides subsidies to help black-owned small businesses buy commercial vehicles.

Similar lawsuits against Amazon, Pfizer and Starbucks have been dismissed.

In a 2-1 ruling, the panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Miami ruled that Blum was likely to prevail in his lawsuit alleging that the subsidy program violated Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act. 1866, which prohibits discrimination in civil rights. based on race in contract enforcement.

The Reconstruction-era law was originally intended to protect formally enslaved people from economic exclusion, but anti-affirmative action activists have used it to challenge programs designed to benefit minority-owned businesses.

The appeals court panel, consisting of two judges appointed by former President Donald Trump and one appointed by former President Barack Obama, rejected the Fearless Fund’s arguments that the grants are not contracts but charitable donations protected by the right to freedom of speech of the First Amendment.

“The fact remains, however, that Fearless simply – and flatly – refuses to entertain applications from entrepreneurs who are not ‘black women,'” the court majority said, adding that “any act of racial discrimination” would be considered expressive conduct considered under the law. the Fearless Fund argument.