Momentus Capital CEO Ellis Carr Reflects on Supreme Court Rulings

Over the past week, I’ve been reflecting a lot about America, for obvious reasons. Thinking of the promises about democracy, opportunity, and the pursuit of happiness that we made in our founding documents.

And thinking about how often, over the course of our history, we have broken those promises when it comes to the people that need them the most. I believe that if we see promises being broken, we citizens have a responsibility to speak up.

So I am raising my voice to say this: with three sweeping decisions last week, the Supreme Court made it harder for us to keep our promises to our fellow Americans.

By now, you are familiar with the details of the cases and the decisions, which upended race-based college admissions, rolled back LGBTQ+ protection from discrimination, and blocked a student loan debt forgiveness plan. In addition, the Court chose not to hear a Mississippi case challenging voting rights restrictions with racist roots in the Jim Crow era.

These decisions will have profound negative implications on our fellow citizens who have faced long decades of discrimination. People of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those carrying heavy student loan debts now have a harder road ahead in their pursuit of the American dream.

And as the leader of an organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for everyone, this is particularly troubling for me.

At Momentus Capital, our work starts from a simple truth: throughout history, our fellow citizens have been denied access to American opportunity because of who they are, what they look like, where they come from, or who they love. We envision a future where everyone has the capital and opportunities they deserve – especially those who have been excluded from both for so long.

Unfortunately, the Court’s decisions last week will harm these groups the most.

Progress is rarely a straight line – especially for long disinvested segments of our population. These rulings are a stark reminder of that. They remind us that we must continue to speak and work in support of underestimated communities.

We will do that at Momentus Capital. We will continue supporting small business owners and community development leaders who are seeking the happiness and prosperity that our founding documents have promised them. And we will continue to push the financial sector to play a positive role in expanding access to opportunity even as the Court takes it away.

In the end, I believe America will make good on its promise to all its citizens. What was broken last week can, through the long arc of history, be made whole.

And I am ready to play my part.