The Rookie Officer Who Shot And Killed Tamir Rice Within Two Seconds Wants His Job Back
The former Cleveland, Ohio, police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice wants his job back.
Taking his appeal case to the Ohio Supreme Court, attorneys for Timothy Loehmann made the case that their client’s termination was due to “a police union’s failure to serve notice on outside attorneys hired by the city,” Revolt TV reported.
Loehmann did not get fired for shooting Rice in 2014. The rookie officer was fired in 2017 for lying on his job application, citing the city of Cleveland fired him because Loehmann did not mention that he had to resign from the Independence Police Department before getting fired due to performance issues, according to Fox 8.
As BLACK ENTERPRISE reported, Loehmann’s employment lasted a total of five months. Four out of those five months were spent in the police academy. Loehmann had spent only a month as an official police officer before his conduct became too much of a liability for the Independence police force.
On Monday, President of the Cleveland Police Patrolman’s Association, Jeff Follmer, said he is hopeful the court’s decision will be based on the merits of Loehmann’s firing and not on a technicality.
“They’re trying to say that we didn’t file this in a timely manner, and we’re saying, ‘Yes we did,’ and we want the appeal and its merits to be heard,” Follmer said.
Regarding the shooting of Rice, Follmer said, “It was investigated by the sheriff’s department, by the grand jury, the county and it was even reviewed by a civilian board set up by the chief,” he added. “The only thing they found that he did wrong was lied on his application, which we’re disputing that he did not lie on his application… Everything else was justified.”
“The police union should be ashamed of itself for still trying to put a dangerous police officer back on the street. Every time they try to do this, they hurt my family and put the public at risk,” Samaria, the mother of Rice, said in response to the police union.
Congressional Black Caucus Wants to Push the John Lewis Voting Rights Act
Some of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus are prioritizing voting rights, saying it is under attack by Republicans.
NewsOne and POLITICO reported that Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD) said the right to vote needs to be restored due to bills throughout the nation trying to undermine Black people’s democracy.
The For the People Act, better known as H.R. 1 and inspired by the late Rep. John Lewis, is a bill Democratic Congresspeople want to enact that will expand voting rights and change how campaign finance laws reduce the influence of money in politics.
As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, one of the main offenders of infringing on voting rights is Georgia, which added strict voting laws like prohibiting voters from passing out free refreshments such as water.
I certainly think our focus ought to be on [the Lewis bill] and voting rights,” Brown said. “You would think that that would provide a real good opportunity for a handful of Democratic senators who want to hold onto the filibuster [to say] ‘Yes, we can do it on this John Lewis Voting Rights [Act].’”
Follow CBC Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) agreed that Congress needs to protect voting rights.
“If you want to play into [Republican] hands, you do nothing at all and let them pass redistricting maps that absolutely don’t have to be pre-cleared where they can do whatever the hell they please, and they can discriminate at will,” Veasey said to Politico. “Or, you step up your game, and you do what needs to be done.”
Initially, H.R.1 was introduced on January 3, 2019, in response to the Democratic majority in the House. The House passed the bill on March 8, 2019, but it was blocked by a then-Republican-controlled Senate, under then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Now that Democrats hold a majority in the House and the Senate, the party must reintroduce the bill to ensure the bill accommodates different states laws.
Black Democrats want the name bill to be named after the late Lewis, who fought for voting rights from his protesting days with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Lewis bill aims at restoring key sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which required certain states to get pre-approval changes onto their electoral maps to ensure there is not racial discrimination.
However, the Supreme Court removed the Voting Rights Act’s protections and pre-approval formula in 2013, which caught the ire of many voting rights advocates.
By September, Black lawmakers said Congress needs to get voting rights legislation to Biden’s desk because most states will begin enacting new maps around then. Others are already beginning the process.
Members of the CBC have teamed up with leaders of two panels that have jurisdiction over election issues to strengthen the language of the Lewis bill.
Black-Owned, Online Tutoring Academies Merge During the Pandemic
Despite the disruption caused by the pandemic, school is still in session. Students may need additional support. BlackNews.com reported that Aquarius Cain and LaTishia Jordan established Achieve Success Tutoring, which is said to be one of the fastest-growing Black-owned online schools for students of all ages. The pair merged their companies during the pandemic.
Achieve Success Tutoring’s website, lists Cain as the company’s CEO/Co-Owner who earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology, Masters in Public Health and is at the dissertation stage of pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Health. She has over 20 years of teaching and tutoring experience.
“When I finish explaining a concept that a student struggles with and their response is, “Oh, that’s it! That was easy!” I joke that I need to buy the Staples Easy Button to send to all of my students,” Cain said on the website.
Jordan is Achieve Success Tutoring’s COO/Co-Owner who earned a BS in Mathematics and Masters in IT. She has 26 years of teaching and tutoring experience. The website mentioned that her favorite part of teaching and tutoring is finally seeing a student grasp a concept that she has been working on with him or her.
Additionally, Achieve Success Tutoring’s Facebook page explains that tutoring, homeschool services, study skills, and test prep services for students to excel beyond what is required in the classroom are among services that are offered.
It’s #MotivationMonday and what better way to motivate the kids than by getting them excited about SUMMER CAMP! 😀
According to BlackNews.com, both women have worked as adjunct professors, department deans,and teachers. Additionally, the business owners are members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
“Our goal is to figure out the student’s learning gaps, fill those gaps allowing the students to move forward in their academic matriculation,” Jordan said, according to BlackNews.com. “Outside of that, we also have test prep for SAT and ACT.”
TikTok Model Exposes How Artificial Intelligence is Biased Toward Black People
TikTok user and model Joris Lechêne, aka @Joris_Explains, demonstrated how artificial intelligence software is racially biased toward Black people.
Last Friday, Lechêne, a London influencer, uploaded a TikTok to explain how AI prevented him from registering for a UK passport because the software did not recognize his skin color, The Independent reported.
“Don’t you love it when you train people to spot racist biases for a living and then it happens to you?” Lechêne said. “In the process of applying for a British passport, I had to upload a photo, so I followed every guideline to the T and submitted this melanated hotness.”
The photo Lechêne used showed him posing in a black shirt with a grey background.
“Lo and behold, that photo was rejected because the artificial intelligence software wasn’t designed with people of my phenotype in mind,” Lechêne continued. “It tends to get very confused by hairlines that don’t fall along the face and somehow mistake it for the background and it has a habit of thinking that people like me keep our mouths open.”
Lechêne said his photo was rejected on the government website due to either his mouth being open or it was difficult to tell the image and gray wall apart.
The video has garnered more than 156,000 views.
The New York Times also did a piece on AI technology going wrong.The Google Photos app labeled Black people as gorillas, while an Amazon face service had trouble “identifying the sex of female and darker-skinned faces.”
In addition, ‘the service mistook women for men 19% of the time and misidentified darker-skinned women for men 31% of the time. For lighter-skinned males, the error rate was zero,” The Times reported.
“Lack of diversity in the data you work with, that’s exactly what we’re talking about,” Lechêne explained in a follow-up video. “Society is heavily skewed towards whiteness and that creates an unequal system. And that unequal system is carried through the algorithm.”
Travis Scott Providing More Scholarships to HBCU Students
Rapper Travis Scott is strengthing his philanthropy arm with more fully paid scholarships for students of HBCUs.
The “SICKO MODE” rapper was one of five recipients announced last week for the first RAD — Red Carpet Advocacy — impact awards, Yahoo News reports. As part of the accolade, Scott’s Cactus Jack Foundation will receive contributions from Amazon in order to fund several scholarships for HBCU students.
His new HBCU scholarships come after he took to Twitter last October to announce that he would be paying the tuition for five HBCU scholars. In addition to his investment into the HBCU community, Scott is pouring into his hometown, Houston, through a new youth education center that will help foster the next generation of creators coming out of the South.
“I felt like sharing inspiration, and sharing knowledge is key. It’s one of the main goals,” the rapper told the Associated Press. My grandfather, on my dad’s side, was a dean of the graduate school at Prairie View A&M. My grandmother taught at Prairie View, and my dad and all my uncles went to Prairie View, and I was supposed to go there. But I went to another school (the University of Texas, San Antonio). That desire of education was always drawn into me through my grandparents, my dad and my mom.”
The Grammy-nominated rapper who co-parents his 3-year-old daughter Stormi Webster with billionaire beauty mogul Kylie Jenner explained how determined he was to help contribute to the HBCU community due to his legacy and understanding the financial need for some students.
“When we did the past scholarships, the freshmen couldn’t even go to campus because of the pandemic. They couldn’t even enjoy the campus life, and their parents probably couldn’t go to work. I just wanted to help,” he said. “The connectivity between that and my grandfather, and helping some of these kids who come from the same community I come from, it’s important. Especially some of these kids that go to HBCUs. My sister goes to Howard University, and my brother goes to Prairie View A&M. A lot of people will get a lot of stuff done if the hardship wasn’t on them. So anytime you can come through and take that burden off their back, it’s amazing.”
His hopes are to continue tripling the amount of HBCU scholarships he gives out each year. Between his scholarship program and upcoming youth center, Travis Scott is proving why he’s the “highest in the room.”
Kendrick Carmouche Will be the 1st Black Jockey in Kentucky Derby Since 2013
According to the Associated Press, Kendrick Carmouche will be the first Black jockey in the Kentucky Derby since 2013, when he competes in it on Saturday. It was also reported that Carmouche is currently one of the few remaining Black jockeys in the U.S.
“As a Black rider getting to the Kentucky Derby I hope it inspires a lot of people because my road wasn’t easy to get there and I never quit,” Carmouche said in the AP article. “What I’ve been wanting all my career is to inspire people and make people know that it’s not about color. It’s about how successful you are in life and how far you can fight to get to that point.”
But success in horse racing is not a fluke or lucky streak for Carmouche. Apparently, his talent is a family trait. Carmouche grew up riding horses in Louisiana and has proven his commitment to horse racing, according to Yahoo! Sports.
“He is the son of a jockey who has won more than 3,400 races and earned $118 million since beginning to ride professionally in 2000,” Yahoo! Sports reported.
AMERICA’S BEST RACING provided more insight, upon offering a glimpse of Carmouche’s bio. According to information provided, Carmouche’s father, Sylvester Jr., and his brother Sylvester III also ride professionally. However, Kendrick earned a reputation as the king of the riders in Pennsylvania. He had five straight seasons exceeding 200 victories. AMERICA’s BEST RACING also shared that Carmouche won a record four consecutive titles at Parx Racing, which was formerly called Philadelphia Park. His 2000th victory was achieved in September 2011.
Although Black jockeys are rare today, NBC Sports points out critical historical facts and references. According to the article, 13 of 15 jockeys for the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875 were Black. Oliver Lewis, Isaac Burns Murphy, James Winkfield, and Willie Simms were listed as must-know legendary Black jockeys from horse racing history.
Issa Rae’s Raedio Label Producing Comedy Album for ‘The Read’ Podcast
Issa Rae is already breaking ground with her new Raedio record label by turning the popular podcast “The Read” into a comedy album.
The comedy album for the No. 1 iTunes show will be executive produced by Rae and Raedio President Benoni Tagoe, Alex Rago, and “The Read” hosts, Kid Fury and Crissle, Paper reports.
“I have been a fan of Crissle and Kid Fury for almost a decade now and ‘The Read’ has been my weekly comfort food,” Rae said of the new project. “I can’t wait for everyone to experience their brilliant comedic commentary in such a specially curated, timeless format.”
“The Read” built a name for itself through the comical celebrity criticism from the show’s hosts. They claim no star is off-limits, except for when it comes to Beyonce. The two NYC-based comedians started the podcast in 2013 and quickly started garnering loyal listeners. By 2019, the podcast received over 85 million listeners around the world with over 1 million unique streams each month, Deadline reports.
The co-hosts and friends shared how organic their partnership with Raedio was for them after being fans of Rae’s just as much as she was a fan of theirs.
“Working with Benoni, Issa and the Raedio team was a natural decision because we have been immense mutual supporters for our entire digital careers,” Fury and Crissle said. “A comedy album is new territory for us, but Raedio has been instrumental in helping us develop the vision for this project, and collaborating with them has been exciting and such a joy. We’re excited to break new ground and give our fans new ways to tune in and engage with us.”
With their upcoming comedy album, it could help take “The Read” to new heights and lead to possible award nominations. Fingers crossed for their new venture.
Dr. Eli Joseph Teaches Unique Ways to Achieve in the Face of Rejection
There are those who simply dream of accomplishing big goals and those who go out and get them. Dr. Eli Joseph is no doubt in the latter camp. At just 26 years of age, this educator and researcher is a faculty member at both Columbia University and Queens College, serves as a partner and medical examiner at Quest Diagnostics, has spoken on TEDx stages, and is a Forbes 30 under 30 scholar. Joseph knows a thing or two about achieving big goals in the face of rejection, and he shared his unique concepts for exponential success with Black Enterprise.
The Making of Dr. Eli Joseph
Dr. Eli Joseph is an American academic with all of the accolades, and one may be tempted to think that his ride has been a smooth one. Losing his father at the tender age of 2, the Brooklyn native’s mom had to work three (and sometimes four) jobs at a time to keep her three boys comfortable and safe. When not working, she often stressed to them the importance of formal education and making a name for themselves. “Growing up, I knew the value of work ethic, he shared.
In 2015 Joseph graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Queens College. Reminiscing, “It was a tough road. I remember vividly taking 11 classes in one semester for 30 credits. That Spring semester I needed 30 credits in order for me to graduate early.” While difficult, he got it done. The following year he went on to get his master’s degree in Business Administration from Brooklyn College. In that same year, at just 21 years old, he went after his doctorate degree in Business Administration. Three years later, at age 24, with a DBA in hand, he became Dr. Eli Joseph.
Adversity for The Dr.
Beyond not having a father around and a heavy workload, Joseph faced many rejections along the way. “Going to school, getting the education and having a good job is great, but the ‘having a good job component’ was a challenge for me because there was no one going to hire me as an executive at the age of 24 with little to no experience and a doctorate.”
While Joseph says that he has been ambitious from the start, he believes that his ambition grew stronger due to a series of rejections.
“People always see the end goal. They see the accomplishments and achievements but they don’t see the dark side.” —Dr. Eli Joseph
While Joseph teaches at Columbia University now, he was actually rejected from the school when he applied to attend undergrad there. In addition to this, he has applied and has been rejected from JPMorgan more than 500 times. He also applied for thousands of jobs on Wall Street and was rejected. This led him to a clever idea to make his new applications stand out. He decided to create a rejection résumé. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like.
Creating a Rejection Résumé
“We have a résumé, we have a CV, we have a cover letter…well last year I created a rejection résumé which highlights all the failures.” He created a single-page document, formatted like a résumé that highlights all of his major failures. Joseph found this catches people off guard and they’re more interested and likely to give him a serious chance. Proving you’ve failed before shows others that you are resilient and less likely to mess up on their dime.
When it comes to failing, it’s a numbers game for Joseph. He shared that he may shoot and miss, but he’s going to keep putting a shot up, and eventually, one has to land.
If this is intriguing to you, give it a go and compile a list of the things you’ve failed at and been rejected from. At the very least, it’ll assist you to see how far you’ve come and all of the things you’ve overcome. You’re a survivor and it’s time to allow your battle scars to become your saving grace.
Your Only Competition is Time
Joseph has been able to accomplish more than most in a much shorter time. There is a reason for this. We often hear people say that they are not in competition with others, rather with themselves. Well, this young researcher takes it a step further.
“You hear people say all the time, ‘I’m not in competition with others, I’m in competition with myself.’ That’s great, but I’ll disagree with that slightly because I don’t think anyone is in competition with other people or themselves. I think people are in competition with time. And when it comes to time-based competition, if you can always compete against time, you’ll always make the time to achieve the things you think that you don’t have time for.”
When you compete with others, your focus is on them in an effort to stay ahead, however, when you compete against time, you’re always ahead as you only have the task at hand to focus on, giving you more time to achieve.
Diversify Your Career
From young, we’ve been taught to choose a single career path and stick with it to grow. Joseph has taken a different approach, noting that career diversification is the way to go.
“You don’t have to limit yourself to one career path. Everyone has a particular career they want to get into, but what’s important, especially during the pandemic where people are losing their jobs and asking ‘What do I do now?’, career diversity answers that question for you before you even ask.”, Joseph shared.
To further break down his point, he gave an example of someone who may be interested in finance and work in investments or banking. If they’re also interested in education, he recommends that they teach about it as well. “That way you can limit the risk of being unemployed for a long period of time.” He explained that having two or three career paths you want to get into is different from having two or three random jobs. It’s about figuring out what’s important to you, and creating career ‘tentacles’ that allow you to easily move fluidly in that direction while still doing your main thing. Another example he gave is for someone who may be a barber. “They could begin establishing themselves on YouTube now and build a network teaching people to cut hair.”
Joseph’s Take on Real Estate
While Joseph has been teaching at universities since the age of 23, he also enjoys getting involved in other avenues of interest to him like speaking and research. Lately, his focus has been on real estate. He is looking to buy his first investment property in Atlanta, a city he sees booming with opportunity. To familiarize himself with his new passion he started off investing in EFTs and REITs, to get a better understanding of the market.
The way he broke down how this works is by comparing ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) to a popular college punch called Jungle Juice. “You’re pouring in a diversified mixture of drinks in a particular punch. That is what an ETF is all about. An ETF is basically a commodity or security that has a diversified set of stocks/equities across a particular market. And REITs is focused specifically on real estate.” The DBA grad understands that there is risk involved in everything, but when it’s diversified in this way it limits the risk.
His advice to those who may be looking to get into the real estate market is to be sure you aren’t over-leveraging and to do your research to figure out if where you’re looking to purchase property in a landlord-friendly state or tenant-friendly state.
Time Management and Morning Routines
With all of the things Joseph is involved in, you may be wondering how he finds the time to do all of this. While he gets that we all have different priorities and life circumstances, he believes we are responsible for making time for the things that matter to us. “We all have 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, and 168 hours in a week. We all of that same amount of time.”
One way he does it is by prioritizing his time in the morning. “Having a routine is very important” he shared. In order to get himself in a good groove for a day of accomplishing, he stays away from one of the biggest distractions. Mornings, when most people grab their phone, he doesn’t. “I don’t pay attention to my phone right away. Once you wake up and tap your phone, a bunch of notifications pop up and it’s difficult for you to address all of those notifications all at once.”
While most wake up to answer emails and scroll on social, Joseph has a different approach. He wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and stretches, works out, and takes 10-15 minutes to meditate. He then showers, brushes his teeth and gets breakfast. By 6:30 a.m. he is pumped and ready for the day.
Build Strong Networks For the Win
Joseph believes that his network is responsible for a lot of his achievements and his ability to successfully diversify his career path. Becoming a member of the Grammy Recording Academy as an example, came as a result of the people around him.
“It’s impossible to get into another industry if you don’t know anything about it or anyone in it…you need to talk to people who do.” He advised, “It’s not just what you know or who you know, it’s also who knows you.”
Joseph, who considers himself to be an introvert approaches all relationships with value upfront. He knows he has value to add to others’ lives and because of that, always approaches networking with a ‘give’ in hand. He is great at research and introductions, and this has allowed him to build a very solid network.
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Learn more about Dr. Eli Joseph on his personal website at DrEliJospeh.com. You can also find him on Instagram @drelijoseph , Twitter @DrEliJoseph or on LinkedIn
Celebrity DJ Jay Claxton and Casay Vaughn Have Love and Business on Lock
Multitalented on-air radio personality, celebrity DJ, actor, influencer, and media personality, “The Franchise” Jay Claxton, and award-winning entertainment and media executive Dr. Casay Vaughn have partnered together to bring us “Love and Business on Lock.” A part of the Franchise Group of businesses which include Franchise Travel Agency, FRNCHS CLOTHING, Franchise Music, Franchise Radio, and Prosperity Franchise, Claxton, and Vaughn are determined to build their businesses as successfully as they build their relationship.
Love and Business on lock feature couples who share their journeys of how their professional relationships transitioned to romantic relationships. The series will highlight each couple’s individual and collective experiences that contributed to them moving beyond the original purpose of their connections.
“There are so many couples out there who are similar to Jay and me,” says Vaughn. “Couples are successfully building a business together and finding ways to do this while growing the love they have for one another.”
“We hear the term power-couple all the time,” adds Claxton. We want to not only highlight couples who are in business together but also provide information on how couples are making business and love work.”
In business and love, there are rules of engagement. This series helps listeners understand and navigate the differences and similarities between the two.
“We have learned valuable lessons, and our audience has received so many actionable takeaways as they manage business and relationships,” says Vaughn.
Claxton adds, “we have a range of personalities that we discuss experiences with. Whether it’s a celebrity couple or everyday couples in business together, everyone walks away with something to use in their daily interactions.”
Beginning as business partners Claxton and Vaughn developed a bond as they worked so closely together. Soon this working relationship developed into a romantic one. The ability to mix love and business turned into Love and Business on Lock. Claxton and Vaughn are proof that you can build a business together and build your romantic relationship at the same time.
Angela Simmons Shares Her Growth and Development as a Millennial Businesswoman
Angela Simmons is the daughter of Run-DMC’s Rev. Run and niece of Russell Simmons. She is accustomed to delving into business pursuits while living her life in the public’s eye. However, nearly any woman can be inspired by a can-do attitude. In an interview with REVOLT Angela discussed her entrepreneurial growth.
Just Angela is Simmons’ lifestyle series which premiered last month. The website mentions that viewers can get to know the real Angela Simmons. She will discuss her love for owning and supporting Black-owned businesses on the show’s May 18 airing on Aspire TV. Thus, the theme of entrepreneurship is being cross-promoted.
The REVOLT interview pointed out that Angela’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2007 with the Pastry shoe line. Angela founded it with her sister, Vanessa Simmons. Last year, Angela launched Simmons Beauty. The website features items such as advanced complexion brightening bamboo masks, toner, facial oil, and skin tonic.
“I just wanted to do something that I love to do and skincare, especially being at home, we had a lot of time to do whatever we needed, right? Facials, masks, a lot of sitting around. I was like, you know what, I’ve always loved it and I just felt like it was time to go forward with it…” Angela said in the REVOLT interview.
Angela also said that she learned to readjust in business, value changing things, and learning and growing within entrepreneurship. When she was asked to provide business tips, Angela’s advice centered around sticking with an idea, even if a person does not feel supported.
“And to believe in yourself more than anyone else around you. It’s good to have support, but it’s nice to really believe in yourself, so I would say definitely really believe in yourself,” Angela said to REVOLT.
