All results / Stories / Jo-Carolyn Goode
Suicide Prevention Starts With You
“The faster you move, the less pain you endure,” is something seventeen-year-old Ashley Jadine Duncan posted on social media. Looking deeper into that statement and one can see the truth behind it. In today’s society everyone is moving so fast and in so many directions not only do you endure less pain but also you don’t feel, touch, hear or see it either.
Laying Down the Law
666 New State Laws Approved at the 87th Texas Legislature
September 1st marks a new day in the state capitol with the passage of new state laws approved at the 87th Texas Legislature. State legislators have been busy orchestrating changes to such issues as gun control, abortion, medical marijuana, buying sex, alcohol, vaccinations, and a myriad of other subjects with the new bills.
Judge Erica Hughes: Ruler of the Court
Erica Hughes can’t stop smiling these days. She did a lot of smiling on the campaign trail when she was running for criminal court judge. A huge smile was on her face when the election results revealed she had won. The smile got bigger when she took the oath of office. And now that she is on the bench, Judge Hughes couldn’t make her smile go away even if she tried.
Volkswagen Passat GT: A New Version of Cool
What is cool is ever changing as it is defined by a generation. Trends in music, fashion, and language help to bring meaning to “being cool.” Topping that list are cars, specifically sports cars. They are fast, fierce, and oh so fun to drive. Nothing could be cooler. For a week, I got to sit in the driver’s seat of Volkswagen’s sporty mid-size sedan, the 2018 Volkswagen Passat GT V6 and learned how it is a new version of cool.
Being Grateful and Thankful for Others
Life without others in it is pretty pointless. The difficult nature of it requires others to bring stability, joy, and balance. People are the ones who offer you love, support, and share in your joys and pain. Others make life less strenuous. Notice I said gratitude and not thankfulness. Though we tend to use grateful and thankful interchangeable they are not the same.
Black Panther: A Marvel Film Breaking Expectations and Records
Struggling to find the words to adequately express all of his emotions, film director Ryan Coogler penned a heartfelt letter to fans.
Elevate Your Spring Break: Fort Bend County Libraries Offer Exclusive Teen Activities
Fort Bend County Libraries (FBCL) are your go-to destination for an unforgettable Spring Break experience tailored exclusively for high school teens (grades 9-12). From engaging gaming sessions to creative craft circles and everything in between, these specially curated programs offer a perfect blend of fun, learning, and socializing.
Hyundai Motors Unveils IONIQ 5 N eN1 Cup Car, Pioneering a New Era of EV Racing
Get ready to rev up for electrifying excitement as Hyundai Motor Company introduces the groundbreaking IONIQ 5 N eN1 Cup car at the official practice round for the upcoming Hyundai N Festival motorsports event. This cutting-edge electric racing car, based on the acclaimed IONIQ 5 N high-performance electric vehicle (EV), marks the dawn of a sustainable racing revolution.
Justice Served: Humble Man Receives Life Sentence for Fatal Shooting of Girlfriend in 2021
In a landmark verdict, a 32-year-old man from Humble has been sentenced to life in prison for the tragic shooting of his girlfriend during a heated argument back in 2021. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg made the announcement, marking a pivotal moment in the pursuit of justice for the victim, 27-year-old Ryniscia Sanford.
Mixing Country and City in the 2018 GMC Canyon Denali Diesel
With all the plethora of trucks in the city for the rodeo, I felt like I had been given membership to the unofficial truck club with the keys in my hand to the 2018 GMC Canyon 4WD Denali Diesel. Though I felt privileged for my membership, it did not help my confidence any when preparing to review this midsize truck until I took a closer look.
McGowan Is First African American Valedictorian at St. Thomas High School
Doing something that no one has done before is a task with no blueprint. Although Kellin McGowan did have somewhat of a guide on his quest to become the first African-American valedictorian in the history of St. Thomas High School, his rich family legacy of achievements was all he needed.
Kyle Rittenhouse's homicide trial for Kenosha shootings opens with jury selection
Kyle Rittenhouse, the armed Illinois teenager who killed two people and wounded another during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer, went on trial Monday on homicide charges in a case that will test the distinction between self-defense and vigilante killings.
Frenchy's Chicken Announces Community Partnership for Renovation and Expansion with Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
Frenchy's Chicken announced a major community partnership with Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church today on the church's parking lot. Percy Creuzot II, son of Frenchy's Chicken owner, and Pastor Marcus D. Cosby, Senior Pastor of WABC, said that the original Frenchy's location that has been housed at the corner of Scott and Wheeler for 48 years will move two blocks down the street to Alabama and Scott to allow expansion of WABC.
President Joe Biden Takes Executive Action On Day One – With The Stroke Of His Pen
Every president has their own agenda with their pressing issues in rank order. Each one comes to the office ready to get to work immediately but they do take time to enjoy the spoils of their inauguration participating in parades, attending countless balls, and taking in every unbelievable moment as it sinks in that they are the leader of the free world. However, Joe Biden didn’t have that luxury. He had the misfortune to have to fix everything that Donald Trump destroyed immediately while also executing his own agenda to make America better. Never before has a president come into office with so many problems and so much pressure to do what is right in government and what is right by the citizens of the country. Good thing is this is something Biden knew when he declared his candidacy and its something that he has prepared for taking executive action on his first day in office.
Mila’s Journey: One Woman’s Fight Against Colon Cancer
“This has got to be a joke,” thought Jamila Barefield. Yes, a very crude and ill joke that someone was playing on her. But there were no lights, no cameras, or studio audience. It was just her lying in a bed surrounded by four blank walls with tubes everywhere staring blankly in the face of a doctor. And in a very cold, disconnected matter, the doctor parted his lips and utter three horrific words, “You have cancer.”
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.
Chevrolet Tahoe: A Large SUV with a Larger Price Tag That’s Worth It
Everything about Lake Tahoe is big. Its sheer size and majestic nature was inspiration enough for General Motors to name their full-size SUV Tahoe. And for one week I got the chance to test out the 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD Premier.
2018 GMC Terrain: Reinvented with a New Look, Engine, and So Much More
Day after day they haunt drivers. No matter how drivers try to avoid them someway the vehicle always drifts towards them. As soon as one is fixed two more seem to appear in its place. They cost drivers tons of money to fix their vehicles from their damage and in taxes to repair. Those pesky hollow cavities formed by the erosion of rock.
Millennials On the Move: Building Inspiration Through Goal Setting
Getting started is the most important step in any process. Coming up with the idea and even the plans for it can be a smooth endeavor but actually taking the step to act on the plan and put it in the universe can be scary. Will it fail? Will it succeed? All sorts of thoughts swirl in your head until you finally have to stop all the noise, move out of your own way, and go for it. This is a struggle Kayla Starr Simmons is familiar with. Two years ago she made a decision to act on a plan that has changed the course of her life.
Tips to Excel Beyond Expectations This School Year
Books, pens, and your favorite device are in your backpack. New clothes hang in your closet. Lunches with healthy protein and nutritious sides have been planned. And your hair is done too. You are ready to go back-to-school, right? Partially right. If you have not put in any thought or effort into planning how this school year will be a success then you are not ready.
