"THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER" | SearchHouston Style Magazine

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Spotlights Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. for Black History Month

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation celebrates and spotlights our own NNPA President and CEO, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., for his contributions during Black History Month.

The Peace Corps will commemorate its 62nd anniversary with a week-long celebration, Peace Corps Week

Over 1,000 Peace Corps Volunteers “Connect with the World” Through International Service in 51 Countries

The Peace Corps will commemorate its 62nd anniversary with a week-long celebration, Peace Corps Week, from February 26 to March 4. This year’s theme — Connect with the World — honors the importance of international service to foster connections and contribute to meaningful change in communities around the globe.

'The Grandmother of Juneteenth' visits Milwaukee

"The Grandmother of Juneteenth" paid a visit to Milwaukee on Friday, Feb. 24.

Humble Man Sentenced to 37 Years in Prison for Shooting at Police during 37-mile Chase

An Humble man was sentenced to 37 years in prison for shooting at a police officer in Upper Kirby during a chase through Houston on the Southwest Freeway, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

Fireside Chat with Mayor Turner & Police Chief Finner to Focus on Youth Crime & Violence

Youth invited to participate in person or virtually

The Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC) and Youth Police Advisory Council (YPAC) invite youth to participate in a Fireside Chat with Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston Police Chief Troy Finner about issues of crime and violence faced by youth, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Media outlets ask Georgia Supreme Court to release full grand jury report on Trump 2020 election probe

A coalition of media outlets is asking the Georgia Supreme Court to reconsider a decision that blocked the full release of a Fulton County special grand jury report, which includes recommendations for whether former President Donald Trump or any of his associates should face criminal charges for their efforts to undermine the 2020 election.

Faith Groups and Advocates Will Demand President Biden Reverse Course on Asylum Ban and Enact Humane Solutions

The #WelcomeWithDignity campaign and the Interfaith Immigration Coalition will hold a rally outside of the White House TODAY at noon EST in protest of the Biden administration’s asylum ban. Faith groups and human rights organizations will call on the administration to reverse course and implement humane, practical solutions instead.

National Black Book Festival News

We hope you're enjoying the second month of the year and continuing to support African-American literature. During this month, we've been highlighting authors on our social media platforms who are making a difference by writing books that both inform and entertain.

2023 Women of Color Conference

Unity: A Future Forward for Women of Color March 9-11, 2023 – Doubletree Greenway Plaza – 6 East Greenway Plaza (77046)

For the first time since 2019, The Center for Asian Pacific American Women (CAPAW.org) is cohosting an in-person 2023 Women of Color Conference in Houston.

2023 South Texas All Hazards Conference Set for March 22-23

Annual emergency/disaster response training conference designates “Texas Strong” theme

The ninth annual South Texas All Hazards Conference will be held Wednesday, March 22 and Thursday, March 23, 2023 at the McAllen Performing Arts Center and McAllen Convention Center in McAllen, Texas. The STAHC is the second largest training conference of its kind in the state of Texas and is the only conference offered at no charge to invited participants. More than 3,000 individuals from public health, public safety, public works, incident and emergency management, law enforcement, and educational institutions are expected to attend. The conference is open to local, state or federal personnel who respond to emergencies, including natural disasters or man-made.

LA’s Historic Stilt Homes - As Seen In ‘Heat’

During the 1950s and ‘60s, about 1,500 stilt homes, designed to take advantage of hilly lots otherwise deemed “unbuildable,” were built in California. Seemingly gravity-defying, these homes were built on supporting stilts over which the home seems to float. One of the stilt homes was used as a shooting location for Michael Mann’s crime drama Heat, starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino.

Harris County Attorney Announces Legal Action Against Landfill Expansion

Harris County will challenge a permit that would expand a controversial landfill located in the Carverdale community in northwest Houston, a historically black community that has largely opposed the expansion. The landfill – known as the Hawthorn Park Recycling & Disposal Facility, operated by USA Waste of Texas Landfills, Inc. – holds construction and demolition waste.

Is There A Black Doctor in the House?

Where are all the Black doctors? They are hard to find. On average, about 5.7% of all the doctors in the US are Black according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Although enrollment of African Americans in medical school is on the rise, 5.7% is still low when considering that there are 66.1% of active physicians with a US Doctor of Medicine degree.Where are all the Black doctors? They are hard to find. On average, about 5.7% of all the doctors in the US are Black according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Although enrollment of African Americans in medical school is on the rise, 5.7% is still low when considering that there are 66.1% of active physicians with a US Doctor of Medicine degree. Looking back at the history of Blacks in medicine, it's easy to see why the numbers are so low. However, new data suggests that more black doctors are needed now than ever, and for some, it could mean the difference between life and death. On average, when put in a crowd of a diverse population with no identifying connections, a person will gravitate toward those of their own race. It's a natural behavior because people are more at ease with who or what they know. Generally, being of the same race is an easy commonality to draw towards. This same kind of thinking works in medicine as well. According to studies, Black Americans who have black doctors have more trust in them, practice preventative care, and ultimately live longer lives. "I think we as blacks relate more to people who look like us. Often, we have unspoken similar backgrounds that bring us to a common place of understanding when we have difficulties in our quests for higher education," said Dr. Creaque Charles, Pharm. D. at an accredited HBCU school of pharmacy. How to Improve Representation of African Americans in Medicine? The answer to that question lies in the problems that Blacks have with medicine. To understand the concerns, one must go way back in history to when enslaved men and women were forcibly brought over on ships to America. Those men and women were treated less than humans and stacked on top of each other like property. On that journey, they had to exist in deplorable conditions that were filled with human fecal matter, urine, and other forms of human waste. This resulted in them becoming gravely ill, and some died. None received medical care. The feeling continued when slave owners subjected their Black female slaves to forced sterilization to stop reproduction. Women were also exploited for their bodies to produce more strong slave labor. These women did not also receive any medical care. When the truth about an unethical experiment with Tuskegee men and Syphilis (dubbed the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis) came to light in 1972, prejudices grew.vDuring the era of the Civil War, Blacks were "doomed to extinction" by the medical community of the time, which thought the mental, moral, and physical deterioration of Blacks would send them to an early grave. The distrust of the medical community continues to this day as some doctors of other races may have prior biological beliefs about Blacks that can result in doctors thinking Blacks have a high tolerance for pain, so they may undertreat them for pain. Incidents like the above led some Blacks to believe that they receive better treatment than their own because they know the point of view from which they are coming. They understand it. "When people look at me and they can see themselves in me, that commonality serves as the foundation for a bond of trust," said Dr. Robbyn Traylor, chief medical officer of an urgent medical care clinic, who knows that any doctor can be excellent no matter their race. "There is a level of comfort that is understood and that can remain unspoken when brown and Black patients are treated by brown and Black doctors." A CNN article dives further into the issue of why there is not a surge of Black doctors. Those reasons include factors like the race being excluded from medicine, systematic racism, institutional racism, not being exposed to STEM or STEM careers as a child, and a lack of Black doctors as mentors are among the top reasons. History supports this when looking at the first Black person to earn a medical degree. Dr. James McCune Smith had to go all the way to Scotland to receive his degree in 1837 from the University of Glasgow. Dr. Traylor was fortunate as a child to be heavily exposed to the life of a Black doctor as both of her parents worked in the medical field. She was often at their heels as a child while they worked at one of the best trauma centers in the Texas Medical Center. "I was lucky enough to grow up in a community of people who made me believe that I had the intellect and attitude for medicine." Diversity Matters Diversity Matters After Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington enacted bans on affirmative action, the diversity of the medical schools in those states dropped by a third. Before Black students were wholeheartedly welcomed at these schools in the 1800s and 1900s, they had a choice of seven medical schools, according to research by the Duke University Medical Center Library and Archives. Now only two remain: Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Black students are more likely to attend black medical schools to seek out those who look like them and have proven that their dreams are achievable. Future Black doctors want to attend schools where they don’t have to feel as if they don’t belong. They want to go to schools where they are encouraged to do well, and those who are instructors and mentors truly believe that THEY can do well. Dr. Tamiya Sam, who is a registered pharmacist and holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, knows that whether it is medical, pharmacy, dental, or nurse practitioner school, having a Black mentor matters. "The face of pharmacy is increasingly non-Black. I believe if there were more hands on and dedicated Black pharmacists who truly mentored Black pharmacy students, it would have a higher impact on their completion because they would serve as someone who has been there and genuinely wants to help them succeed." Rosa Terrance, DNP, APRN, GNP-C, agrees with Dr. Sam. "Mentorship absolutely matters and is influential in producing more providers of color. At all times, I make sure of two things: 1) I have a mentor who looks like me, and 2) I am acting as a mentor to someone else. There is a degree of comfort and trust that is birthed out of just being present with someone of your likeness in an otherwise underrepresented space." The Next Generation of Doctors African Americans have a responsibility to expose our children to all the world can offer them. African Americans have a responsibility as a race to step up and be mentors for brown and black children in all fields, not just the medical field. To improve race relations, Blacks must educate our non-Black counterparts. A change must come, and it must start now with each of us.

City Approves Agreement for Major Flood Mitigation Project

Houston City Council approved funding for a significant flood mitigation project today that will appropriate $15.2 million to the Inwood Detention Basin Interlocal Agreement between the City of Houston and the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). Harris County Commissioners Court approved its portion of the Interlocal Agreement with the City on Tuesday, February 22, 2023.

Commissioner Rodney Ellis, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, County Attorney Christian Menefee, Others Honor State Rep. Senfronia Thompson During Murals Unveiling

After Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and others bestowed accolades on state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, Texas’ longest serving legislator then brought the crowd to laughter at a ceremony to unveil two downtown murals, one that honors her.

Commissioner Rodney Ellis Announces 793 Guns Received During Third Gun Buyback

Houston-area residents turned in 793 guns on Saturday at the third Gun Buyback event conducted by Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Sheriff Ed Gonzales and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in their efforts to reduce violent crime and make Houston-area communities safer.

Commissioners Court Unanimously Approves Apprenticeship Advantage Program

Partnership between county and labor-managed apprenticeship programs will train workers and create career pipelines that connect people to in-demand jobs that offer strong wages and benefits

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis on Tuesday applauded Commissioners Court’s unanimous approval of a labor-managed apprenticeship program as part of the County’s broader Apprenticeship Advantage initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

National Institute on Retirement Security Hosts 14th Annual Retirement Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Department of Labor Assistant Secretary Lisa Gomez to Deliver Remarks

The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) will hold its 14th Annual Retirement Policy Conference on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, in Washington, D.C. At this event, retirement experts and leaders will discuss key retirement policy challenges and opportunities, along with the newly-enacted SECURE 2.0 retirement legislation.

Wisconsin voters head to polls for high-stakes state Supreme Court election

Wisconsin voters on Tuesday will cast their primary ballots in what's turned into an expensive and high-stakes battle for control of the state Supreme Court in a key political battleground where power is divided between a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled legislature.

EPA chief returns to the site of a toxic train wreck as Ohio opens a health clinic for residents reporting symptoms

The nation's top environmental official is headed to East Palestine, Ohio, where the state is opening a clinic Tuesday to address residents' health concerns two weeks after the fiery derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals.

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