by Mitti Hicks

September 11, 2024

Parent Banned From School District After Defending Her 7th Grader She Claims Was Bullied By 10th Grader

Christian County Public Schools informs parent that she's banned from school grounds after defending her seventh-grade student from alleged high school bully.

Christian County Public Schools informed Yasmine Payne that she is banned from school grounds for one year after defending her seventh-grade student, who she alleges was bullied by a tenth-grade student while riding on the school bus.

In a viral video that has more than 16 million views, Payne is defending a previous video she posted of confronting her daughter’s older bully after she says her child was afraid to get on the bus.

@bigyammip
♬ original sound – YammiP

“My daughter and her friend on the bus at the end of the day [were] on their way home, and her friend showed her a jump scare video. My daughter screamed. The tenth grader told her, ‘If you scream again, I’m gonna come over there and slap the f**k out of you and take your phone,’” said Payne, explaining the events leading up to her confronting the alleged bully.

Luckily, her daughter’s friend pulled out her phone to start recording the incident, which she claims shows the tail end of the older student yelling at the middle schoolers.

The mom explained that before exiting the bus, her child, her child’s friend, and other students told the bus driver what happened, but the bus driver allegedly shrugged it off.

“She didn’t want to go to school Thursday […] she went and told the principal that it was somebody bullying her on the bus and a tenth-grade student in high school. The principal still didn’t call me. I found this information out because the principal also told me to confirm what my daughter said,” says Payne.

She said the adults failed to protect her daughter, so she took matters into her own hands and told the 10th-grade student to stop messing with her daughter in the now-viral video.

@bigyammip Replying to @Tummy Hurts ♬ original sound – YammiP

She met with the high school and school district on Sept. 9, when she found out she was banned from the school district. However, she explains on TikTok that there were no rules or protocols regarding the bus conduct she signed at the beginning of the year.

“I was told it’s because I stepped on the bus, and it’s an offense because the bus is a part of the school,” she says. “I cannot come near the bus or school grounds for a year.”

Payne is devastated by the decision. She hopes the school district disciplines the tenth-grader.

“The district hasn’t been able to locate the high schooler, and I want the bully to be taken off the bus,” she says. “I’m scared for my child’s safety.

Black Enterprise reached out to the school district for comment on what went into the school district’s decision, but the district did not readily respond to our request for comment.

Payne tells Black Enterprise that she and the district are planning a follow-up meeting on Sept. 11 following her video discussing the school ban.

Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Debate, donations

by Sharelle B. McNair

September 11, 2024

Kamala Harris Reminds Voters Of Trump’s Role In The Case Against The Exonerated Five

Hope the voters hear her loud and clear!

Vice President Kamala Harris took the time to remind voters of former President Donald Trump’s role in trying to keep the now-Exonerated Five behind bars during the second presidential debates, NBC News reports.

Harris and Trump faced off for the first time during a debate on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia, where moderators and ABC Correspondents David Muir and Linsey Davis posed numerous questions concerning Americans nationwide. During the segment surrounding race relations and Trump’s controversial disputes against Harris’ Black identity, the VP used her time at the podium to point out that the four-time indicted businessman has had a bumpy history with race, describing it as “tragic.”

She highlighted one major factor against her opponent, looping in how he called for the “Exonerated Five,” previously known as the “Central Park Five,” to face the death penalty during the 1989 case that rocked New York City and the nation. “Honestly, I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president, who consistently, over the course of his career, attempted to use race to divide the American people. You know, I do believe that the vast majority of us know that we do have so much more in common than what separates us…,” Harris said.

“And let’s remember how Donald Trump started. He owned land…he owned buildings. And he was investigated because he refused to rent property to Black families. This is the same individual who took out a full-page ad in the New York Times, calling for the execution of five young Black and Latino boys who were innocent…the Central Park Five.”

Kamala Harris responds to Donald Trump’s comments on her race, bringing up his past rhetoric about former President Obama and the exonerated Central Park Five.https://t.co/YMkuJmpIzd pic.twitter.com/imOifSyfMz
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 11, 2024

More than 30 years ago, Trump took out a full-page advertisement to be circulated in NYC-based newspapers calling for the return of the death penalty for the teenagers falsely accused of raping a white jogger in Central Park. All five convictions were overturned.

Reminder: This was the full page ad Trump took out calling for the execution of the Central Park 5 in 1989.

Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise were exonerated.

Kamala Harris coming with the receipts. #Debate2024 pic.twitter.com/U2GWBQEXav
— Voto Latino (@votolatino) September 11, 2024

During the debate, he continued his refusal. “They admitted, they said, they pled guilty, and I said, ‘Well if they plead guilty, they badly hurt a person — killed a person ultimately,” he said, adding that “a lot of people,” including former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, agreed with him.

Trump cuts off debate moderators again. This time to defend his racist attacks calling for the #Exonerated5 to receive the death penalty. pic.twitter.com/az4EniXQ3K
— American Bridge 21st Century (@American_Bridge) September 11, 2024

The former president never apologized and has openly refused to backstep from his actions, even when he was face-to-face with a member of the exonerated group. According to The Independent, Yusef Salaam was backstage in the spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, used by the candidate’s campaign surrogates. As Trump turned toward Salaam, now an elected member of New York City’s Council, a host of reporters asked him if he would apologize. In response, the GOP candidate grinned and pointed at Salaam, saying, “That’s good, you’re on my side!”

The council member shot back with, “No, no, I’m not on your side!”

Stephen A. Smith, Kamala Harris,Tyreek Hill

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

September 11, 2024

Stephen A. Smith Claims NFL Player Tyreek Hill Has Some Fault In Viral Police Incident

The sports commentator argued that both the NFL player and law enforcement have lessons to learn from the viral incident.

Stephen A. Smith thinks Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill should take responsibility for his recent interaction with Florida police officers.

The sports commentator argued that the NFL player and law enforcement have lessons to learn from the viral incident. The Miami-Dade police department released bodycam footage of Hill’s arrest, which revealed the heated exchange between the two parties. Police initially pulled Hill over for a traffic stop violation. However, the ordeal escalated into an officer snatching Hill out of his car and onto the ground before handcuffing him.

While agreeing that the police’s treatment of Hill was excessive, Smith also focused on what the athlete could have done better. He detailed his thoughts on the situation on the Sept. 10 episode of ESPN’s “First Take.”

“When it comes to Tyreek Hill, we also can’t let him completely off the hook based on the statement that was made by the police department in Florida,” expressed Smith. “They said he was ‘uncooperative.’ We have a responsibility on this show and any kind of platform we can do make sure we’re doing anything we can to save lives, to make sure we’re doing what we can to ensure that somehow, some way, you get to live another day and fight that battle. We know how wrong they were. The police were excessive. No excuses. They should be ashamed of themselves, the way they acted. They just went overboard. Totally true.”

However, Smith emphasized that Hill’s first response to the officers suggested his privilege as a celebrity.

“Here’s the problem – we all came on the air seeing the initial footage in complete unadulterated support for Tyreek Hill,” shared Smith. “You pull over. They tell you to roll down your window. What’s the first thing Shannon (Sharpe) just talked about? The first thing they do when they pull us over. They pull me over. All my windows are down. My hands are on the steering wheel. That is not what Tyreek Hill did.”

He continued, “Tyreek Hill had his window up. The officer knocks on his window. He didn’t bang on his window. He knocked on his window. You hesitate to pull it down. The first thing you say is, ‘Don’t bang on my window like that.’ He asked you for your driver’s license. You hesitated to give him your driver’s license. You said in the postgame conference, ‘Hey, y’all, what if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ What if you aren’t Tyreek Hill? What would have happened to you if somebody wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Kept the windows rolled up, hesitated to roll it down, didn’t give the license immediately when asked for it, and then hesitated to get out of the car when they told you to get out of the car?”

According to Smith, despite Hill’s wrongful treatment by the police, his own actions did not help either. He urged everyone to be “responsible” when engaging with the police, noting they “do have the power. “

“See, we gotta be responsible,” he added. “The point I’m trying to make is this – in no way should the officers be excused for what they did… But I also am saying, ‘Yo, Tyreek, yo, bro, you didn’t deserve that. I’m not implying that you did. But the police officers do have the power. When they pull up on you, and they tell you to roll down that window, and they tell you to give them your driver’s license, and they tell you to get out of that car, that’s what you gotta do.'”

According to the New York Times, Hill has publicly asked for the officer involved’s firing as the situation wages on. The man, Danny Torres, has been on administrative leave since the incident came to light.

Americans, tax utility, government, tenant protection laws

by Shanique Yates

September 11, 2024

Tenant Protection Laws Proposed As Heat-Related Deaths Double In The U.S.

Lawmakers propose maximum indoor temperature during hot days to combat growing issue of heat-related deaths across the U.S.

Following another record-hot summer in the United States, lawmakers are considering implementing tenant protection laws to safeguard residents from extreme and often deadly heat.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heat-related deaths in the country more than doubled from 1999 to 2023, with more than 21,500 occurring within that time frame. The study, published in the medical journal JAMA, also reflected a year-over-year increase from 2016 on, Bloomberg reports.

Tenant Union Federation, a national “union of unions,” was launched in August. The organization plays a pivotal role in advocating for change, starting with tenant protection laws that require a maximum indoor temperature during hot days.

“Things are changing because they have to; something’s got to give,” said Tenant Union Federation founding Director Tara Raghuveer. “The emergency in our homes is at a level that is actually untenable.”

A 2023 report revealed that Black New Yorkers “have an age-adjusted heat-stress death rate that is twice as high as that of white New Yorkers,” suggesting that this is much more than a climate issue but one that is reported to be rooted in systemic racism.

In July, New York City Council member Lincoln Restler, a representative for parts of downtown neighborhoods in the Brooklyn borough, proposed legislation requiring landlords to install and maintain air conditioning units in all rental units. According to the bill, temperatures inside units between mid-June and mid-September would be required to stay below 78 degrees when outdoor temperatures surpass 81 degrees. Should the law be implemented, landlords would have four years to change their units or could face a fine of up to $1,120 per day for non-compliance.

Similarly, in Los Angeles, county officials approved a January motion to create a law establishing a “safe maximum temperature threshold,” requiring residential rental units to be “cooling ready,” which would allow residents to install their own units.

Recently, the heat wave in Southern California broke its previous record of back-to-back days of 114-degree heat, which was on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6, 2020, with temperatures that caused power outages and school closures.

Currently, hotter parts of the country, including the Texas cities of Dallas and Houston, Montgomery County in Maryland, and California’s Palm Springs, have laws in place that require landlords to “provide adequate cooling to avoid exceeding a temperature threshold,” which varies from 80 to 85 degrees.

In Phoenix, landlords are required to repair A/C units within 10 days of tenants’ written complaints.

While some landlord groups oppose the proposed maximum temperatures, citing that the cost of installing the cooling systems may cause them to raise rent or even drive out landlords who can’t afford to implement the changes, others say they aren’t against it.

Instead, their concerns are around the proposed deadlines for them to do so.

“What is more up for debate is: Realistically, what is possible and reasonable for property owners to do in that timeframe?” said Alexandra Alvarado, director of marketing and education at the American Apartment Owners Association. “The other aspect is whether or not the landlord can bill the tenant for utilities.”

At this time, air conditioning is present in roughly 90% of American homes, which means about 35 million are living without it. A recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that those without air conditioning are likely to be older, from a lower-income background, and non-white.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

September 11, 2024

Harlem’s Apollo Theater To Host ‘Fatman Scoop Forever: Celebration of Life’ Memorial

The beloved hip-hop artist died while perfoming at a Connecticut event.

On Aug. 30, hip-hop lost one of its greatest voices when Harlem’s own, Fatman Scoop, died after he collapsed doing what he loved: performing on stage. His family just revealed a public memorial that will acknowledge and celebrate his life at the world-famous Apollo Theater in his hometown in New York City on Sept. 12.

“Please join the Freeman family in the celebration of Isaac “Fatman Scoop” Freeman at the Apollo this Thursday.“

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Fatman Scoop (@fatmanscoop)

People who are in the New York City area can go to the Apollo Theater website to RSVP for tickets to attend the “Fatman Scoop Forever: Celebration of Life.”

The Freeman family is asking that instead of flowers or gifts, donations be made to the charity-based MusiCares. The organization labels itself as a “safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community.” Gifts won’t be allowed at or near the Apollo.

The popular recording artist got his start in the entertainment industry by promoting records for Tommy Boy Records, even being featured in promotional ads before he was known for his booming voice and the ability to hype crowds. He released a record, “Be Faithful” in 1999, that can still be heard on radio stations and clubs around the world. He was also a featured artist on two songs in 2005, “Lose Control” by Missy Elliott and “It’s Like That” by Mariah Carey.

On the day he died, Fatman Scoop released two records, Bingo Players and Disco Fries, “Our House” and “Let It Go” with Dyce Payso. The video for “Let It Go” also debuted on Aug. 30.

Fatman Scoop was performing at the Green and Gold Party in Hamden, Connecticut, and after shouting out one of his signature phrases to the crowd, he collapsed at the performance and died later at a local hospital.

by Stacy Jackson

September 11, 2024

Indiana Family Demands Justice After Mother Of Six Fatally Struck By Stray Bullet

The mother of six was shot in the head by a stray bullet as she passed a McDonald's on her way home to cook for her children.

A family is seeking answers after their loved one, Kia Tidwell, a 42-year-old mother of six, was killed by a stray bullet while she was driving in Gary, Indiana, Friday night.

No arrests have been made since Tidwell was struck in the head while passing a McDonald’s on the way to her home in Portage. According to ABC7 Chicago, the woman’s family joined elected officials on Monday to demand justice as police continue to investigate what the city of Gary stated as “the tragic death of Ms. Kia Tidwell, mother of six, who was caught unexpectedly in gunfire near the Grant Street and 5th Avenue in Gary on Friday, September 6th.”

“This is a call to action for the community to step forth to figure out what can we do collectively as a community so we can prevent this from happening again,” said Gary Mayor Eddie Melton. “We stand right with them, with stand by them. This is not just their loss. It’s the city of Gary’s loss.”

The Gary Police Department and the Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force are reviewing details from the incident ABC7 Chicago reported; it happened after Gary police were already dispatched to a McDonald’s on Friday near West 5th Avenue and Lincoln Street due to an altercation between a group of young people who fled the scene. After shots were fired from the northeast side of the building, police discovered Kia inside her vehicle with a gunshot wound to her head.

Her eldest daughter, Islynn Tidwell, who was on the phone with her mother at the time of the shooting, stated, “I just heard people shooting, and she cried, ‘Oh, Jesus!’ And that’s when I heard her car skirt off, and she crashed into the tree right there, and the phone call ended.”

Kia’s mother, Charlotte Tidwell, shared that her daughter, whose youngest child is barely five years old, had just left her house to go home and cook for her children. The victim is also the grandmother of a two-year-old. “[We’re] going to take it further,” Charlotte said. “We’re going to take it as far as we can. It don’t stop here. We can’t allow it to stop here.”

A GoFundMe set up for her family has raised over $16,000 to date. Police urge witnesses to respond with any details on the incident by calling 219-755-3855 or leaving an anonymous tip at 219-207-8477.

by Sharelle B. McNair

September 11, 2024

FedEx Accused Of Discriminating Against Disabled Employees, Requiring Them To Be ‘100% Healed’

As if its not hard enough out here....

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is accusing delivery service company FedEx of discrimination against employees with disabilities, claiming they need to be “100% healed,” HR Dive reports.

A lawsuit filed on Sept. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota says FedEx violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by requiring transport drivers with medical restrictions to take unpaid medical leave after a temporary reassignment period until they are healed. The company allegedly placed employees on leave even when they could perform their job functions with or without feasible accommodations while medical restrictions were still in place.

The agency also accused FedEx of failing to provide accommodations to affected employees.

According to Reuters, the complaint stemmed from a Minneapolis-based driver who claims she was fired in 2021 due to chronic back pain. Another driver from Las Vegas allegedly fractured her vertebrae in a work-related accident and has been on unpaid leave since November 2022. Regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago office, Gregory Gochanour, released a statement saying employees suffer from “100% healed policies,” costing workers their livelihoods without any consideration: “100%-healed policies, like the one FedEx has, cost qualified workers their livelihood without giving them individual consideration,” Gochanour said.

“Under the ADA, employers have an obligation to explore reasonable accommodations and not to screen out qualified individuals with disabilities who can do their jobs.”

Such policies have been linked to EEOC litigation. In 2022, gas station Circle K reached a $8 million settlement after being accused of maintaining a 100% healed policy, among other alleged violations. A medical center in Louisiana had similar issues with the agency and settled over accusations of requiring employees to be “fully fit for duty” or 100% healed if they needed more fixed leave or light duty.

The suit seeks back pay and other monetary damages for an unidentified number of workers affected by FedEx’s alleged policy. The EEOC is also seeking an order requiring FedEx to overhaul its employment policies to comply with the ADA.

This isn’t the first time FedEx has been tied to issues with the EEOC. In 2020, the company paid $3.3 million to over 220 deaf and hard-of-hearing people after the agency accused FedEx of denying employment or accommodations in violation of the ADA. The company denied any wrongdoing but was required to provide pagers and package-scanning devices with non-audible cues to employees with hearing issues.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

September 11, 2024

Stephen A. Smith Claims NFL Player Tyreek Hill Has Some Fault In Viral Police Incident

The sports commentator argued that both the NFL player and law enforcement have lessons to learn from the viral incident.

Stephen A. Smith thinks Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill should take responsibility for his recent interaction with Florida police officers.

The sports commentator argued that the NFL player and law enforcement have lessons to learn from the viral incident. The Miami-Dade police department released bodycam footage of Hill’s arrest, which revealed the heated exchange between the two parties. Police initially pulled Hill over for a traffic stop violation. However, the ordeal escalated into an officer snatching Hill out of his car and onto the ground before handcuffing him.

While agreeing that the police’s treatment of Hill was excessive, Smith also focused on what the athlete could have done better. He detailed his thoughts on the situation on the Sept. 10 episode of ESPN’s “First Take.”

“When it comes to Tyreek Hill, we also can’t let him completely off the hook based on the statement that was made by the police department in Florida,” expressed Smith. “They said he was ‘uncooperative.’ We have a responsibility on this show and any kind of platform we can do to make sure we’re doing anything we can to save lives, to make sure we’re doing what we can to ensure that somehow, some way, you get to live another day and fight that battle. We know how wrong they were. The police were excessive. No excuses. They should be ashamed of themselves and the way they acted. They just went overboard. Totally true.”

However, Smith emphasized that Hill’s first response to the officers suggested his privilege as a celebrity.

“Here’s the problem –- we all came on the air seeing the initial footage in complete unadulterated support for Tyreek Hill,” shared Smith. “You pull over. They tell you to roll down your window. What’s the first thing Shannon (Sharpe) just talked about? The first thing they do when they pull us over. They pull me over. All my windows are down. My hands are on the steering wheel. That is not what Tyreek Hill did.”

He continued, “Tyreek Hill had his window up. The officer knocks on his window. He didn’t bang on his window. He knocked on his window. You hesitate to pull it down. The first thing you say is, ‘Don’t bang on my window like that.’ He asked you for your driver’s license. You hesitated to give him your driver’s license. You said in the postgame conference, ‘Hey, y’all, what if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ What if you aren’t Tyreek Hill? What would have happened to you if somebody wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Kept the windows rolled up, hesitated to roll it down, didn’t give the license immediately when asked for it, and then hesitated to get out of the car when they told you to get out of the car?”

According to Smith, despite Hill’s wrongful treatment by the police, his own actions did not help either. He urged everyone to be “responsible” when engaging with the police, noting they “do have the power.”

“See, we gotta be responsible,” he added. “The point I’m trying to make is this – in no way should the officers be excused for what they did… But I also am saying, ‘Yo, Tyreek, yo, bro, you didn’t deserve that. I’m not implying that you did. But the police officers do have the power. When they pull up on you, and they tell you to roll down that window, and they tell you to give them your driver’s license, and they tell you to get out of that car, that’s what you gotta do.'”

According to the New York Times, Hill has publicly asked for the officer involved’s firing as the situation wages on. The man, Danny Torres, has been on administrative leave since the incident came to light.

by Daniel Johnson

September 11, 2024

Black Male Enrollment At HBCUs Trends Down And Has Dwindled Over The Last 50 Years

Some reasons for the decline include inadequate college preparation from grades K-12, a lack of Black male teachers, and financial barriers both from the prospective students and the HBCU institutions themselves.

A report from the American Institute for Boys and Men released in late August depicts that the enrollment numbers of Black men at HBCUs have been on a steady decline over the last 50 years.

According to the report, which pulls numbers from the Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Black men went from 38% enrolled at HBCUs in 1976 to 31% in 2005 to 28% in 2022.

Some reasons for the decline include inadequate college preparation from grades K-12, a lack of Black male teachers, and financial barriers both from the prospective students and the HBCU institutions themselves.

Furthermore, the report details that there has been an 11% overall drop in enrollment at HBCUs since 2010, which is consistent with other colleges and universities, but notes that Black men’s decline outpaces that figure by more than double.

Black men’s declining enrollment numbers come across as a crisis. The enrollment numbers for Black men at colleges and universities in general are down by 22% but down at HBCUs by 25%. However, the report does note that post-George Floyd, the application numbers for Black men at HBCUs rose following the depressed numbers of the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequently, enrollment numbers for Black men have outpaced other groups but remained below pre-pandemic numbers.

As Inside Higher Ed reported, HBCUs have seen increased applications and enrollments since the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action in 2023. However, they questioned whether the intentionally underfunded universities could withstand the increased strain on their resources.

According to Harry Williams, the president of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the interest in HBCUs is as high as it’s ever been.

“Alabama State, North Carolina A&T, Morgan State—they’re all seeing record numbers. Even smaller schools like Bowie State [in Maryland] are bursting at the seams,” Williams told Inside Higher Ed. “After [the] affirmative action [ruling], interest in historically Black colleges and universities is at an all-time high.”

Williams continued, “Everything that’s been going on politically, from affirmative action to DEI, sends a message to Black students that they don’t belong,” Williams told the outlet. “At an HBCU, you’re never going to have that question, and all of the support, resources and scholarship money being taken away elsewhere are already built into the structure [at HBCUs] …there’s value in a sense of belonging.”

Although he is optimistic about the enrollment numbers, Williams also addressed the concern over whether the infrastructure at HBCUs is equipped to handle an influx of students.

“The [enrollment] boost has created another challenge for our institution, and that is infrastructure,” Williams said. “It is certainly a positive thing, but the presidents at all our institutions are worried about whether it can be sustainable.”

Calvin Hadley, assistant provost for Academic Partnerships and Student Engagement at Howard University, told Inside Higher Ed that the lack of Black men on campus is palpable.

“That 25 percent, you feel that in every class, you feel that on the yard, you feel that at events,” he said. There are noticeably “far more females on campus than males.”

Hadley also made sure to celebrate the Black women on campus, saying that “we need to ensure, with all of these educated Black women who graduate and get out there and become the CEOs and executives they will,” adding that he hoped that Black men were not left behind and saw themselves as capable of achieving what their female counterparts would go on to achieve as well.

The American Institute for Boys and Men’s report concludes that although some numbers are trending up, the overall decline in Black men’s participation in higher education paints a troubling picture. They recommend reforms in the K-12 system, including an increase in the representation of Black male teachers. They also call for expanding funding for both HBCUs and their potential students to help HBCUs operate at their full capacity to support Black men’s economic and educational advancement in America.

Derrick Brooms, the executive director of the Black Men’s Research Institute at Morehouse College, agrees with the report’s recommendations and wants action taken to capitalize on positive momentum.

“HBCUs outperform other institutions” in conferring degrees, Brooms told Inside Higher Ed. “We know that if we have declining numbers of Black men attending HBCUs, coupled with declining enrollment of Black men at other institutions, then in effect, we will have decreased numbers of Black men earning bachelor’s degrees.”

Broom continued, “That means there’s a whole cadre of employment opportunities [many] Black men won’t be qualified for. We can’t sit back and wait or expect that the trend goes on its own.”

by Shanique Yates

September 11, 2024

Meek Mill Tunes Into 2024 Presidential Debate In Hometown Of Philly

Meek Mill tunes into presidential debate after sending off a tweet about the ticketing process for the event.

While Meek Mill’s request to perform during the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump didn’t happen, his desire to tune into the political event did.

Just hours ahead of the historic presidential debate, in the rapper’s hometown of Philadelphia at the city’s National Constitution Center, the “Dreams and Nightmares” emcee took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to ask what the process for getting tickets to attend the debate was.

Shortly after his question, he updated his followers on social media: “They said I could come, lol. ”

How we get tickets to the debate in Philly I wanna go it’s gonna be history!!!!
— MeekMill (@MeekMill) September 10, 2024

Meek Mill, born Robert Rihmeek Williams, is no stranger to politics. Following his 2018 release from prison, just 10 years after he was arrested and sentenced to eight months in prison when caught carrying a gun while shopping at a local grocery store, the Philly native became a stark advocate for criminal justice reform. He has also been very vocal about the system’s effect on him for most of his life.

He is also the co-founder of REFORM Alliance, alongside a world-class group of philanthropists and activists, including fellow rapper and businessman Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, billionaire Michael Rubin, and New England Patriots CEO Robert Kraft. The nonprofit organization aims to “transform probation and parole by changing laws, systems, and culture to create real pathways to work and wellbeing.”

In 2023, Meek Mill played a key role in a string of probation reform bills that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed into effect. When the legislation passed, Meek Mill was in attendance and spoke of his experience with probation, noting how he was prohibited from picking his son up from school in the neighboring state of New Jersey due to parole regulations.

“We try to be better, but they labeled us ‘felons,’ sent us back to jail,” he said in an emotional speech following the legislation being signed into law. “I had to fight against that the whole time to gain my respect and be who I am today.”

Shortly after signing with JAY-Z’s Roc Nation, at age 19, Meek Mill was arrested by officers from Philadelphia’s narcotics unit after an officer claimed to have witnessed him selling drugs the day before. The “Going Bad” rapper has always denied the claim. Later, an officer on the scene claimed that Mill pointed a gun at him, and he was ultimately charged with 19 counts, including assault, gun charges, and drug possession.

While prosecutors recommended a sentence of five to 10 years behind bars, presiding Judge Genece Brinkley issued a lighter sentence of 11 to 23 months. His sentencing would soon spark the #FreeMeekMill movement across social media and within the music industry, often cited by rappers in their rhymes, including his boss, JAY-Z.

In less than six months, Judge Brinkley ordered Meek Mill’s release from prison and placed him on eight years of probation. This move speaks to the criminal justice reform that he fervently pursues for people in similar situations today.

“The problem with the sentence wasn’t the jail sentence that was imposed. It was the enormous amount of probation that was placed on top of it,” defense attorney Brian McMonagle contended at the time.

In 2023, shortly before Gov. Josh Shapiro took office, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf granted Meek Mill a full pardon, permanently removing the conviction from his record.

In addition to his work as a criminal justice reform advocate, Meek Mill can check off tuning into the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump off of his evolving list of political chess moves.