Loving daughter, constant writer, pageant lover, effective manager, and community advocate are just some of the characteristics that describe Jo-Carolyn Goode. Having a solid foundation forged by her parents and faith in God has helped shape her into the pillar of the community she is today. The Houston, Texas native is a Prairie View A&M University graduate with a B.S. in the concentration of Biology with minor in Chemistry and Dance.
Beginning her professional career with Houston Style Magazine as an editorial intern, she worked her way through the ranks to become Managing Editor. Through a proven track record of excellent timely reporting and having a great worth ethic, Jo-Carolyn tells the stories of the everyday man to the hottest celebrities to the political power movers. While overseeing a talented team of writers and photographers, Jo-Carolyn produces the weekly print publication of Houston Style Magazine that is widely distributed locally, regionally, and nationally. In addition, she engages readers with stellar content through Houston Style Magazine’s online portal and social media channels.
Her communication talents move from the pages of print media to video as the producer for ‘It's National Day,’ a popular YouTube show celebrating the different national days of the world hosted by media personality TotallyRandie.
Jo-Carolyn has a passion for mentoring the minds of young girls and women and exercises this in a number of ways. In the capacity of National Assistant Director of the Miss Black America Coed Pageant Jo-Carolyn works with girls as young as five helping them to learn the ways of a queen through modeling, interviewing, and serving their respective communities. She also volunteers for the Miss Texas USA Pageant and Miss Texas Teen USA Pageant system where she works with girls as young as 14. Jo-Carolyn builds girls of confidence and character as a Girl Scout leader for one of the oldest African American troops in the Houston area. Her mentorship to these various groups of girls has allowed them to learn valuable lessons and gain skills that have translated to other areas of their lives to live and grow as successful individuals.
Always involved in her community, Jo-Carolyn has affiliations with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated - Alpha Kappa Omega Chapter as the chapter historian and sits on the Board of Directors for the Ivy Educational and Charitable Foundation of Houston, Incorporated and the Advisory Board for the Beatrice Mayes Institute.
Recent Stories
Three Black Quarterbacks Make History as the Top NFL Draft Picks
Trying to figure out who will be #1 in the NFL draft is always a very opinionated conversation. With bona fide sports aficionados giving their expert opinions and the avid Monday night fan weighing in with his thoughts.
Texas Southern Cheerleaders Make History As the First HBCU to Win the NCAA National NCA Cheer Competition Title in 75 Years
TS, TS, TS, TSU, U,U, U, I thought you knew! If you didn’t know, now you do. The Texas Southern University (TSU) cheerleaders have put Texas Southern University and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) on the map as the first HBCU to win the 2023 NCAA collegiate National Cheer Association Championship title. In NCA’s 75-year history, no HBCU has ever won the national cheer competition.
Comcast Texas Commits More Than $1M to Shrink Local Digital Divide in 2023
Any home without some sort of electronic device to connect with the internet or a way to access the internet is a household that is at a serious economic, social, and mental disadvantage. Various studies have proven this. The internet opens an entirely new world that can connect people in surmountable ways. It can open worlds unseen by the human eye, broadening one’s mind and educational scope.
Ruth E. Carter: Shining the Light on Superheroes
Imagination would have us believe that superheroes are fictional characters in capes, masks, and elaborate costumes with superhuman powers that either come to destroy or save life.
City Council Votes Against Pappas at Hobby Airport
Money is one of the quickest ways allies can become foes. For over two decades, the Pappas family restaurant chain has considered itself a friend of Houston. However, bonds are being tested and may break in the latest battle of contract negotiations over who will reign as ‘king’ concessionaire at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport.
Mayor Turner Alarm By State to Takeover HISD
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner ran late on Wednesday morning, March 1, 2022, for the Houston City Council. Over the weekend, he met with several people, including legislators and Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, to discuss the future of the Houston Independent School District (HISD). The commissioner did not give him a definitive answer. However, the legislators did inform him of the state's intention to takeover HISD. According to Turner, Texas Education Agency (TEA) has intentions of replacing the Board of Education, Superintendent Millard House, and taking over the entire school district.
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.
Houston’s Third Gun Buyback Scheduled for Feb. 18th at Deussen Park
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Sheriff Ed Gonzalez have announced a gun buyback at Deussen Park on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 8 a.m. to noon. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also attended the news conference. The event is part of Harris County’s initiatives to prevent gun violence. This is the third gun buyback co-sponsored by Harris County Precinct One in seven months, resulting in about 2,000 firearms being taken off the street. Residents will be able to turn in firearms in exchange for gift cards worth $50, $100, $150, or $200 at the upcoming buyback, with no questions asked.
From Courting to Dating: What Makes the Perfect Date?
The way we meet and date on our quest for that one true love today is vastly different than it was 100 years ago. Back then, a couple didn’t find a mate by swiping left or right. A guy didn’t send a text to a lady to let her know he was outside to pick her up. Of course, it is because cell phones, apps, and advanced technology were not even figments of our imaginations. But that is not the only reason. Before couples were even allowed to "court," as it was called in the early days, a gentleman had to meet the family first to get approval to court a lady. Courting was very formal, as the man would be given approval to come into the family’s parlor after being vetted. In the parlor, the lady sat waiting to greet the gentleman.
Black Women Rule the Grammys
Bow down for Queen Bey! The Houston entertainer has just sent herself into the superstar stratosphere by winning the most Grammys in history! With a record 32 wins, she received her latest Grammy for best dance/electronic album for the record "Renaissance." Beyonce also took home Grammys for best traditional R&B performance for "Plastic Off the Sofa," best electronic dance for "Break My Soul," and best R&B performance for "Cuff It," respectively. She is, without a doubt, the GOAT of music!
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