Local business owners lead protest after facing allegations of racial discrimination

JACKSON, Tenn. — On Friday, June 14, Lamar Hobson and Reggie Carrick both took it upon themselves to protest in front of the American Job Center.

They allege funds were misappropriated to benefit their business because of their race.

“As far as discrimination goes, he and I have faced that issue,” said Reggie Carrick, owner of All Star Training Academy LLC.

Carrick has a forklift school in Jackson and Memphis, he shares that he has no problems in Memphis, however, in Jackson it is more difficult for his students to receive their funds.

The same goes for Hobson's hairdressing school. However, both men say that won't stop them.

“What they're going to do is starve them, I don't understand what's happening, and then what happens is those students or those institutions aren't there anymore. He and I aren't going anywhere. We will stand for change, we demand change. We’re not asking for change, we’re demanding change,” Carrick said.

The two attended the Northwest/Southwest TN budget meeting to learn how funds were distributed and since that time have continued their research.

“We want to know how much of these funds are allocated to African-American businesses versus white businesses. Now I have contacted the African American Chamber, which has gone on record saying that from 1998 until today, only 2 percent of those federal funds have gone into African American schools,” Carrick said.

Carrick says he asked an employee at the American Job Center in Jackson why their prospective students were facing a tougher time when their schools were essential learning.

“Why are he and I having these problems when we know there is a high demand for what I do and what he does? Amazon is on its way. The new BlueOval is there, everywhere I look, a manufacturing or warehouse that needs forklift operators,” Carrick said.

In response to Carrick and Hobson's complaints, we received the following statement:

The State Equal Opportunity Officer for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) conducted a comprehensive review of a complaint filed by All-Star Training Academy, LLC .

In reviewing this matter, the State EO Officer reviewed demographic information for the affected areas and employment data information for the current year and the program year that ended on June 30, 2023.

The data reviewed showed that there is not currently a high demand for the forklift operator profession. Additionally, the list of in-demand occupations through 2026 for Southwest Tennessee shows the same thing.

TDLWD also reviewed Jobs4TN's internal work orders and external work order reports for forklift and other occupations in Southwest Tennessee over the past twelve (12) months, which have not showed strong demand. Therefore, funds allocated for forklift operator training were limited due to current labor market conditions.

Reports show 34 new jobs planned over the next five years, which we estimate to be around 7 per year. Although the report indicates a total of around 82 openings per year, the available data already indicates a saturation of candidates for forklift operators.

Upon completion of the review, the EO Officer determined, based on statistical and data research, that TDLWD acted without discrimination or bias in determining how to allocate the funds training for local providers.

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