Black-Owned Electric Transport Franchise, GEST Carts Chicago, Paving Way For Brands Who ‘Walk The Walk’
by Atiya Jordan

May 26, 2022

Black-Owned Electric Transport Franchise, GEST Carts Chicago, Paving Way For Brands Who ‘Walk The Walk’

GEST Carts Chicago, The Windy City’s first-of-its-kind electric transport service, not only provides free sustainable rides to your destination but serves as a mobile billboard for brands.

GEST Carts, which stands for Green Easy Safe Transportation, is a national franchise with operations in six cities. Launched in December 2019, the Chicago franchise, both Black and woman-owned, is led by Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Tiffany Shepard, Chief Financial Officer Marissa Wright, and Chief Sales and Operations Officer Harold Shepard.

 

(Photo courtesy of Tiffany Shepard)

“The riders love us,” Tiffany Shepard tells BLACK ENTERPRISE.

“Older riders are grateful and have called us a ‘blessing’ for the ride to their home or to the grocery story and young/party-goers are grateful for the fact that it’s free and thus cheaper than Uber. Either way, we’re not in it for credit as the advertiser on the outside gets all the credit.”

Advertisers can get a “custom designed, vibrant, personalized traveling billboard” that makes free transportation feasible with “over 1 million impressions per shuttle per month,” according to the company’s website.

Having worked with a variety of clients, GEST Carts Chicago is looking forward to working with natural hair and body brand Shea Moisture during Essence Fest in New Orleans.

“We are for brands who care how and where they spend their OOH [out-of-home] funds—brands who walk the walk,” Shepard said.

How to get a free ride

(Photo courtesy of Tiffany Shepard)

Unlike a taxi, the zero-emission, multi-passenger vehicles can be requested via the GEST app. Riders can also meet at designated corners in Central Downtown Chicago and Wrigley, or shoot a text to 502-501-4378.

Hours of operation are currently Fridays 6-11 p.m.; Saturdays 1-6 p.m. and 6-11 p.m., and Sundays 1-6 p.m.

Tiffany Shepard spoke more about GEST Carts Chicago with BLACK ENTERPRISE.
(Photo courtesy of Tiffany Shepard)

When did you launch GEST Carts Chicago?

GEST Carts was launched in Cincinnati as a woman-owned company. My company, GEST Carts Chicago, is their first franchise and it is Black- and woman-owned and launched in December 2019. And all the other franchises that have launched since then are Black-, woman-, LGBTQ- and/or veteran-owned.

GEST Chicago, GEST Detroit, GEST Denver, GEST Charlotte and GEST Vegas Strip are all Black-owned (five of the seven franchises) with Denver also being LGBTQ- and veteran-owned.

Are you and the other franchises actively working together?

The franchises are very collaborative. We have a monthly call on Fridays to share tips and tricks with each other. And we often help each other fulfill client needs for larger orders like when Procter and Gamble’s brand Old Spice wanted us to activate at Super Bowl in Los Angeles.

What types of companies or clients have you worked with?

We are so proud of the companies who have partnered with us like Uncle Nearest, Hard Rock Casino, My Black is Beautiful, Maker’s Mark, and Old Spice. These are companies who have decided to be more intentional with where and how they spend their OOH dollars…with a company that’s diverse and sustainable—not on some large diesel bus.

Describe what it was like when you received your first advertiser.

It was amazing! Our first advertiser was Uncle Nearest whiskey. We loved having a Black-owned brand as our first advertiser and it helped us prove the concept to future advertisers and riders.

What are the best and challenging parts of running a Black-owned business in advertising?

Most people need to see our vehicle in order to understand the concept. Lots of large companies have 90- day invoice terms, which for a small company can feel like a lifetime. The current equipment supply and employee shortage. We’re ready to expand but the shortages make it tough.

What is the future of GEST Carts Chicago?

We look forward to continue to partner with large brands who want us in the downtown areas while also partnering with community service providers like ComEd, Obama Foundation, and financial institutions, so we can continue to serve the communities who need free transport the most.

Six Atlanta Police Officers Won’t Face Discipline After Violently Arresting Morehouse and Spelman Students in 2020
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 26, 2022

Six Atlanta Police Officers Won’t Face Discipline After Violently Arresting Morehouse and Spelman Students in 2020

Two years ago, six Atlanta police officers who were caught on video forcibly dragging two young Black college students out of their car during the end of a protest had been charged, according to ABC News. Now, according to NPR, those six police officers will not face any discipline as the charges against them were dropped.

The incident took place during a George Floyd protest in Atlanta in May 2020 after a Minnesota police officer Derrick Chauvin killed Floyd on a public street in front of bystanders. Footage from a phone went viral. The six Atlanta police officers were accused of using violent and excessive force against two college students after the video of the assault went viral.

On Monday, the Atlanta district attorney announced that all charges against the officers were dropped because the actions that the police officers performed were right on par with department policy.

Video footage that circulated on social media revealed the police officers on foot encountering the two Black students: Taniyah Pilgrim and Messiah Young. They were, at the time, attending Spelman College and Morehouse College. The incident took place about 45 minutes after the city’s mandated 9:00 p.m. curfew.

Police officers attacked the couple as they were in the vehicle and used stun guns on both occupants.

Police officers Lonnie Hood, Willie Sauls, Ivory Streeter, Mark Gardner, Armond Jones, and Roland Claud were the officers charged.  Streeter and Gardner were fired from the police force, while the remaining police officers were placed on desk duty.

Samir Patel, the temporary district attorney for the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, recently dropped the charges against the police officers stating that the officers’ use of force was “the direct result of Mr. Young and Ms. Pilgrim’s resistance to and noncompliance with the officers’ instructions.”

The D.A. said that the officers were acting within the Atlanta Police Department’s use of force policy and that the force ceased after the two students were subdued by stun guns.

“The video that was widely distributed through media in the days following May 30, 2020, was not an accurate portrayal of the entire encounter between Mr. Young, Ms. Pilgrim, and law enforcement,” he said.

“I wholeheartedly believe that Georgia has made significant progress in improving how our communities and police work together and we must continue that positive path, always guided by the rule of law.”

Dutch Police Create Deepfake Video Of Sedar Soares To Help Solve His 2003 Murder
by Derek Major

May 26, 2022

Dutch Police Create Deepfake Video Of Sedar Soares To Help Solve His 2003 Murder

Dutch police have created a deepfake video of Sedar Soares, a 13-year-old who was murdered in 2003, to help solve the case.

BBC reports Dutch police are using AI technology to recreate a video representation of the 13-year-old, who was murdered outside of a Rotterdam metro station while playing with friends. The deepfake technology—also known as AI-generated media—shows Soares walking through a soccer pitch with a ball. Soars is soon surrounded by family members, friends, and teachers.

“Somebody must know who murdered my darling brother. That’s why he has been brought back to life for this film,” a voice says before Soares stops and drops his ball. “Do you know more? Then speak,” Soares and his relatives and friends say before his image disappears from the field and the video gives the police contact details.

“The fact that we have already received dozens of tips is very positive,” Rotterdam police spokeswoman Lillian van Duijvenbode said, a day after the deepfake video was released.

Dutch police believe Soares was not involved in a crime and his death was a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Officers are hopeful the new technology, which was recently used in a Kendrick Lamar video, “The Heart Part 5,” could help witnesses come forward with information almost two decades after Soares’ death.

Daan Annergarn of the National Communication Investigation Team with the Dutch police believes new technologies are the best option to move forward with the case.

“We know better and better how cold cases can be solved. Science shows that it works to hit witnesses and the perpetrator in the heart with a personal call to share information. What better way to do that than to let Sedar and his family do the talking?” Annergarn said in a Dutch Police news release.

 

Wall Street CEOs Promised Billions To Help Black Americans After George Floyd’s Death, Here’s Where That Money Went
by Derek Major

May 26, 2022

Wall Street CEOs Promised Billions To Help Black Americans After George Floyd’s Death, Here’s Where That Money Went

After the death of George Floyd in May 2020, the CEOs of JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi, and others promised more than $30 billion to Black banks to make the U.S. economy more equitable for Black Americans.

Two years later, Business Insider talked to several Black banks to see if those CEOs came through on those promises.

The CEOs of five banks that primarily serve Black customers and communities told Insider the money has been significant for them. The money has allowed Black banks to acquire customers at faster rates, lend to more Black-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs, service more mortgages for Black families, and improve their technology and operations in previously unimaginable ways.

However, Black bank CEOs added that to start closing the racial wealth gap, Wall Street CEOs will need to sustain their investments of capital at their current pace. Dominik Mjartan, the CEO of Optus Bank, a South Carolina bank that Wells Fargo and JPMorgan invested in, said his bank has been able to hire more employees, modernize its digital-banking services and increase its loan amount from $60 million in 2020 to more than $160 million today.

“We were so capital-starved and resource-starved for decades,” Mjartan said. “I’ve never seen anything like this, and it’s genuine and it’s real.”

In the aftermath of Floyd’s death and national and worldwide social justice protests, JPMorgan committed $30 billion, Citi committed $1.1 billion, and Bank of America $1.25 billion. The commitments aren’t grants, but equity stakes, meaning the banks will profit from their commitments.

In addition to money from banks, Black celebrities, companies, and organizations have also committed millions to help small Black business owners and entrepreneurs get access to credit, technical assistance, and advice on how to scale out.

Jeannine Jacokes, the CEO of the Community Development Bankers Association said Black-owned and Black-serving banks, as well as credit unions, believe they’re getting the attention and money they deserve after decades of being underfunded.

The investments made by bank CEOs in 2020 have led to an increase in the number of Black Americans in the banking system. It’s also kept thousands of Black Americans from turning to payday loans and cash advance loans which carry sky-high interest rates and are seen as predatory.

 

21-Year-Old Doctor Is The Youngest Black Woman To Graduate From HBCU Meharry Medical College
by Atiya Jordan

May 26, 2022

21-Year-Old Doctor Is The Youngest Black Woman To Graduate From HBCU Meharry Medical College

At 21-years-old, Zindzi Thompson has persistently blazed the path toward becoming a doctor. Her vision got her here — the youngest Black woman to graduate in her medical school’s 146-year history.

According to Fox 17, Thompson was just 16 when she started her medical school journey at Nashville’s HBCU Meharry Medical College. Hailing from a long line of Meharry graduates, the incoming psychiatry resident is making her family proud and achieving her milestones.

“I have always wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. There’s nothing else that I wanted to be,” Thompson said, as per News Channel 5 in Nashville.

“She’s wanted to be a doctor since she was three years old, and we saw that she was a little bit different starting at three. So since she was three, she’s worked towards this goal,” Thompson’s mother, Machelle Thompson, told the outlet.

At 13, Thompson enrolled in a gifted program at Mary Baldwin University in Virginia, a five-hour drive from her home in South Carolina. Though far away, she reaped the benefits of earning a four-year degree through the program.

“A big part of the process has been letting her go and achieve her goal. And that’s been the hardest part. The academics for her and knowing that she was going to do it was easy, but not having your daughter through those years was the hard part,” said Thompson’s father, Samuel Thompson.

On Saturday, May 21, Thompson fulfilled her life’s dream. Although getting through medical school had its challenges, she advises to “push through.”

“Just don’t give up. Just push through. If you have to re-take a course, re-take it and do better — you can definitely do it. It’s not impossible,” she said.

For the summer, Thompson will be continuing her trailblazing journey at a psychiatry residency with Washington University Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

“She’ll make history. And I think about my ancestors and everything that they went through, and then I look at my daughter, and it’s amazing. It truly is,” said Machelle Thompson.

South African Track Star Caster Semenya Offered To Show Body to Track Officials To Prove She’s A Woman
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 26, 2022

South African Track Star Caster Semenya Offered To Show Body to Track Officials To Prove She’s A Woman

South African track star Caster Semenya says that when she was a teenager, she offered to show track officials her nude body to show that she was a woman.

According to The Associated Press, the 31-year-old athlete appeared on HBO Real Sports and spoke about having to prove that she was a woman so she would be able to compete in her sport.

Semenya stated that in her earlier years, she was questioned about being a female and she proposed showing her body to officials at World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field.

She discussed what took place at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, where she won the 800-meter title as an 18-year-old newcomer, which was also her first major international meet. She said that due to her outstanding performance and muscular physique, the sport’s governing body made her undergo sex tests.

She feels they probably assumed that she had a penis.

“I told them, ‘It’s fine. I’m a female. I don’t care. If you want to see I’m a woman, I will show you my vagina. Alright?’”

Semenya also revealed that after winning the world title, she was forced to take medication by the international athletics federation that artificially lowered her natural testosterone to compete against other female runners. Details of the medication she took were never disclosed but it’s assumed that she took birth control pills or something with identical effects to lower her testosterone.

“It made me sick, made me gain weight, panic attacks. I didn’t know if I was ever going to have a heart attack. It’s like stabbing yourself with a knife every day. But I had no choice.

“I’m 18, I want to run. I want to make it to (the) Olympics, that’s the only option for me. But I had to make it work.”

The attorney for World Athletics, Jonathan Taylor, defended the medication by saying leading experts would prescribe it for female athletes with high testosterone.

To which Semenya responds, “Jonathan must cut his tongue and throw it away. If he wants to understand how that thing has tortured me, he must go and take those medications. He will understand.”

Semenya is currently banned from competing in distances from 400-meters to the mile at top-level track meets according to updated testosterone regulations. She would have to agree to take medication to lower her testosterone again, which she refuses to do. She hasn’t run an 800-meter race at a major meet since 2019. The updated regulations prevented Semenya from defending her Olympic title last year in Tokyo.

Unlock The Full Power Of Microsoft Office With This Mac Bundle
by Black Enterprise Shop

May 26, 2022

Unlock The Full Power Of Microsoft Office With This Mac Bundle

With a worldwide paradigm shift in ideas for the workplace and the classroom, now, more than ever, professionals and students have turned their respective dwellings into workspaces. The work-from-home and schooling-from-home trends continue to rise in popularity as more people are adopting remote life full-time.

With The Premium Microsoft Office Training Bundle + Lifetime License of MS Office Home & Business for Mac 2021, you’ll have all the tools equipped on your work or school computer. For a limited time, you can purchase this product for $69.99 during our Memorial Day Sale. That’s a savings of 94% from its MSRP ($1,549).

The cornerstone of this bundle is MS Office Home & Business for Mac 2021. On its own, it costs $349. Just as you’d find on your office’s computer or in the computer lab at school, the software suite includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and OneNote. Software keys and a download link will be sent to you instantly upon your purchase. Should you run into any issues installing the software, free customer support is offered.

To get the most out of Microsoft Office, take advantage of the six training courses included in this bundle. Individually, each costs $200.

The Microsoft Excel: Data Analysis with Pivot Tables training course is essential for anyone who uses Excel for data. It’s packed with 85 lessons spanning five hours. Users will learn how to cover raw data structure, table layouts, and styles. Instruction is given on how to explore design and formatting options. Hands-on training in analyzing data from a number of real-world case studies including San Diego burrito ratings, shark attack records, MLB team statistics, and more are included.

The Microsoft Word 365 training course includes 83 lessons. By the end of the course, students will know to work with tables, they’ll learn the best ways to use margins and alignments, and they’ll gain a familiarity with the quick access toolbar, ribbon, and basic operations, among other helpful tips. Training courses for the other software are offered.

Microsoft Office has established itself as the leading software suite in its space. Tap into its full potential and purchase it along with these training courses today.

Prices subject to change.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 25, 2022

Sha’Carri Richardson Redeems Herself, Wins First 100m Race After Suffering Losses

After several devastating losses, track athlete Sha’Carri Richardson has reason to celebrate after winning the 2022 Duval County Challenge American Track League with a time of 11.27 seconds.

Richardson opened the season at the track meet held at the Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. It was her first time competing since losing in Italy last September.

The Dallas native had a weak start in the women’s 100m with a time of 11.37 seconds with a headwind of 1.5 m/s in the fourth, Essentially Sports reports. She redeemed herself in the rerun coming in first while it was raining outside.

Richardson confidently started wailing her hands even before crossing the finish line.

The rerun was questioned after Aleia Hobbs, who won the official race, didn’t take part in the second race. Many in attendance claimed the rerun was due to camera problems in the original heat. Others credited it to the track being switched so that men could run with a tailwind, so the rerun was to give the woman the same opportunity given to the men.

It was a major feat for the popular athlete after a string of losses following her removal from the Tokyo Olympics last summer. Richardson sparked debates after she was barred from competing with Team USA after testing positive for marijuana.

She pulled out of three scheduled meets this season, including a highly-anticipated showdown with Jamaican Olympian Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the Kip Keino Classic.  Richardson’s latest win comes just ahead of her featured run against Elaine Thompson-Herah in the 100m at the Pre Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday, NBC Sports reports.

Richardson came in last with a time of 11.14 seconds at the last Pre Classic last August. It was her best time in four 100m since the Olympic Trials.

Over the last nine months, Richardson has ranked 57th in the world. Richardson has yet to beat her personal best time of 10.72 seconds that she ran last year.

Santa Barbara ‘Karen’ Has A Racially Charged Meltdown After Being Filmed By A Black Man
by Atiya Jordan

May 25, 2022

Santa Barbara ‘Karen’ Has A Racially Charged Meltdown After Being Filmed By A Black Man

A “Karen” in Santa Barbara, California, was caught on video having a racially charged meltdown toward a Black DJ at a restaurant who filmed her losing it on a manager regarding an unpaid bill.

According to New York Post, the now-viral video was first posted to Reddit and has since attracted thousands of views and comments about the incident. Viewers can see the unsettled woman addressing  39-year-old Ian Soleimani, who is recording, as “one of four Black people in Santa Barbara.”

“Sooo this just happened @sb_boathouse, Santa Barbra needs to do better. Almost lost my s – – t,” wrote Soleimani in a separate post on the clip’s caption.

The incident took place at the Boathouse at Hendry’s Beach. An unidentified woman can be seen confronting a restaurant manager after her card was declined the night before, and she allegedly tried to pay with PayPal. Her ID was confiscated from the establishment until she returned the next day with proper payment.

The video shows the woman repeatedly asking for her ID, claiming that the bill was paid. But the restaurant manager disagreed. The woman noticed Soleimani was recording the confrontation and then unloaded her racial remarks.

“Hi, one of four Black men in Santa Barbara,” she told him. “Oh, now I’m a racist, terrible person. Oh, sorry, just because you’re an obnoxious guy. It’s not your fault that you’re Black, of course.”

“I’m against obnoxious people to be fair, not against Black people,” she continued.

The woman continued going back and forth with the manager until she shifted her attention to Soleimani again. She asked what he was doing, to which he calmly responded, “Taking a video of this. This is absolutely ridiculous.”

“Are you sending it to the FBI after this?” snapped the woman in response. “I might go psychotic pretty soon. I’m probably going to. I’m probably going to get very violent pretty soon; I’m glad you’re here.”

“Again, don’t you have some fish to catch, African American man?” she continued. “Don’t you want to go on a boat and do some African American fishing?”

The manager eventually retrieved the ID and gave it back to the woman. She then bans her from ever returning to the property. A Reddit user claimed that the restaurant manager’s husband told them her name was actually Karen, and she’s from Florida.

According to The Daily Dot, Soleimani said he’d been a resident of Santa Barbara since 2003, and it wasn’t the first time he’d experienced racially motivated incidents.

“This person just got caught. People think this doesn’t exist, let alone here, and it certainly does,” Soleimani told The Daily Dot.

“People have been kicked out of boathouse a few times for [racially] motivated comments towards myself unfortunately. After experiencing stuff like that on and off for as long as that restaurant has been open, just doesn’t surprise me. Just learned how to deal with it better,” he continued.

 

Black Actors In ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Hope Films’ Black Pilots Lead To New Fans And Real Black Pilots
by Derek Major

May 25, 2022

Black Actors In ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Hope Films’ Black Pilots Lead To New Fans And Real Black Pilots

Actor Jay Ellis saw the movie Top Gun on a Texas Air Force base when he was a child, and it made him dream of becoming a fighter pilot.

Several decades later, Ellis isn’t in the military, but he is playing a fighter pilot in the anticipated sequel Top Gun: Maverick, which will hit theaters this weekend. In the movie, Ellis plays Navy fighter pilot Payback and told NBC News the film is a thank you to the real soldiers who inspired him as a child.

Ellis, who played Lawrence on HBO’s Insecure, comes from a military family. His father, both of his grandfathers, and his step-grandfather were all in the Air Force, so being a pilot in the movie is something he took seriously, adding he believes the first Top Gun was a success because it showed the experiences of Navy pilots.

Actor Greg Tarzan, who plays the Black fighter pilot Coyote in the sequel, added showing Black Navy pilots on the big screen is an important milestone. The original Top Gun featured one Black pilot, Marcus “Sundown” Williams, played by Clarence Gilyard, but the sequel features more Black and minority actors.

“When I saw the first ‘Top Gun,’ obviously there was one Black character, Sundown, but I don’t think he was represented as fully as he could have been,” Tarzan said. “So I think that it’s really cool that we have the representation, not just of Black characters, but of many different men and women.”

Black men and women have served in the military since the Civil War, but Black actors were left out of combat roles in movies until recent decades. Military historian David Silbey told NBC News that the Navy was initially “resistant to having Black Americans in any position oriented toward combat and wanted to keep them in service positions like mess hall attendants.”

The Navy’s first Black decorated officer was Doris Miller, a mess attendant aboard the USS West Virginia, which was docked at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked it in 1941. Miller helped carry injured soldiers from the ship to safety, including the ship’s commander, Capt. Mervyn Bennion. He then manned an anti-aircraft gun, using it to shoot at Japanese planes until he was forced to abandon ship.

Miller, who had no previous training using the gun, was the first Black person awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest honor for soldiers and Marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat.

 

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