See HEALTH PROGRAM

BIG MAMA SAID THE LONGEST JOURNEY IS FROM YOUR HEAD TO YOUR HEART. KELVIN JOSEPH AND OTHERS – WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

BLACK CARD

By Terry Allen

Every Sunday evening, we knew a lesson was about to come when Lucille “Big Mama” Allen sat on the back porch resting her feet, heart and hands after working 6-7 days a week for others then cooking a great Sunday dinner for her own family.

This particular advisory, “the longest journey in the world is from your head to your heart” was always a Big Mama PlayBook Challenge because this one required that all members of Big Mama’s family had to surrender their egos and take a deep dive to grasp this lesson.

Right in the middle of the interruption of everything, Big Mama would call out your full name then directly ask, “Terry is your head leading you to your heart or is it an expansion of your attitude (E.G.O.)

Lucille “Big Mama” had me understand that E.G.O. meant Easing God OUT and if the ego was winning then you are in trouble.

Big Mama’s advice meant that you need to work on taking what is in your head (E.G.O.) and ensure that your heart lands in the center of your thinking BEFORE you act.

Lucille “Big Mama” Allen platform was always steeped in the Biblical word. The willingness to change is driven by personal need and a renewed EGO. Big mama knew that! Her quote would be Ephesians 4:22-24.

The E.G.O feeds off the fact that some of us do not know that we do not know. We refuse to acknowledge we have an E.G.O and accept that God is not driving.

Example, a very loved and respected mother in my circle asked the men of the circle to intervene in her granddaughter’s life. She felt someone needs to “talk to her” after her granddaughter attended an event in Dallas where a man was killed and others dodged bullets, escaping death.

Hmm, as my sister, Peggy would say, “Here is the thing, you are the person in charge, you allowed her to go, 1) Did she ask for your permission or just inform you she was going? 2) Did you check out the information on the sponsors, permits and hosts of the park party? 3) is there a clear line of accountability and freedom between you the parent and her the child?

One way to get off the sidelines and step into the endgame is to use BIG Mama’s playbook challenge to travel from your head to your heart FIRST.

Think about something you know is an issue for you – take it to your heart.

I am going to sit back to see how this investigation goes with a deadly shooting that happened in the early hours of March 18, outside a bar on Dallas’ Lower Greenville Avenue. Somene allegedly shot from a car that Dallas Cowboy Kelvin Joseph was a passenger in and Cameron Ray died from a gunshot wound that night. Brother Kelvin, here is the thing, you were willingly in that mix..sooooo?

Readers, I ask that you understand that the movement up and down all the different stages of the ego is quick, so it is imperative that the journey from head to heart is done every day.

Here is my E.G.O. Notice: Think, Be quiet, think again and then drown the ego, then, act - repeat the steps because you are in Spiritual Special ED and you must repeat the class.

Email if you have an E.G.O. issue to share with me at TerryAllenPr@gmail.com

Terry Allen is an award-winning media professional, journalist, and entrepreneur. He is also the founder of City Men Cook and 1016 Media. Reach him at terryalllenpr@gmail.com

Innovative Health Program Provides Alternative for Sick Employees cont. from page 1

also an investment in the more than 400 employees at the Dallas-based company.

During a recent visit to Dallas, Dr. Glenn Davis talked about how the Houston-based company that specializes in mobile clinics is helping companies and their employees along with their families by setting up offices on the premises to provide medical care.

Doctors are available for checkups and minor health concerns.

At the local fruit processing plant, employees were even tested for COVID and with more services on site there was never a shutdown or work stoppage throughout the pandemic.

Dr. Davis praised the leadership at Hardies for investing in employees, saying it was a testament to visionary leadership. He said Hardies joins other companies in working to deal with the health crisis and promote safer, healthier workplaces.

Vice President Jennifer Hardie Austin and Human Resources Director Melinda Munoz echoed the doctors sentiments about the benefits of having a doctor on call.

For them, it made good business sense.

“The decision to go with Hamilton will benefit the company and our employees,” said Munoz.

According to the doctor, the Hamilton Health Box preventative services model has an impressive track record, saving one company as much as a 1/2 million dollars annually.

“We are able to diagnose symptoms earlier,” he explained, adding that the trained staff can prescribe medications and also make referrals and determine if a hospital visit is the next step.

Having Hamilton on the premises can also help area hospitals who have found their emergency room doctors being used as primary care physicians for many patients.

According to a survey commissioned by digital healthcare marketplace Zocdoc and conducted by Kelton Global, “The emergency room is the default choice for most Americans when they need medical care and nearly a quarter of millennials and Gen Z view the ER as their primary care doctor.”

The study also showed that only 3% and 14% of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, respectively, do the same.

Long before the COVID pandemic, this was a problem for America’s hospitals and was actually deemed a crisis.

Unfortunately, some point to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which passed in 1986 by Congress, requires hospitals and ambulance services to provide care to anyone needing emergency healthcare treatment regardless of citizenship, legal status or ability to pay.

Board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Davis says companies that have a base of 150 or more employees, benefit significantly from contracting with Hamilton.

The Texas A&M University and Baylor University Alum, he says Hamilton is located in businesses in several cities and there are plans to expand, because of their successful track record in helping employees get healthy and businesses operate in a safer, healthier environment.

There are fewer sick claims, sicknesses are quickly addressed and in many cases, employees can go back to work the same day, without using any sick days, said Dr. Davis.

A key component in the office “clinic” is the Teledoc System that Dr. Davis says removes barriers to care, allowing doctors to interact with patients virtually and in person and patients can see what the doctor is seeing or hearing.

In a demonstration at Hardies, Dr. Davis displayed how doctors are able to do everything from checking vitals like blood pressure to prescribing antibiotics for a toothache.

Available around the clock, Hamilton’s full time staff is assisted by a care team that is available to provide immediate care.

During the visit with Dr. Davis, Nurse Paola Olguin was on duty and she talked about how important she thinks the program is, especially for those employees who have family members.

“Their family members are also able to take advantage of services,” she said.

And other perks for employees on the plan include no charge for any generic medicine and that plan costs on average between $40-$50 per employee per month, she added.

Dr. Glenn Davis with Nurse Paola Olquin, Melinda Munoz and Jennifer Hardie Austin

That’s My Mama!

QUIT PLAYIN’

By Vincent L. Hall

"Set in a middle-class African American neighborhood in Washington, D.C., the program revolved around the character Clifton Curtis (played by Clifton Davis), a man in his mid-20s who worked as a barber at Oscar's Barber Shop, the family barbershop he had inherited from his late father.

While Clifton enjoyed being a bachelor, his loving but tarttongued and opinionated mother, Eloise "Mama" Curtis, played by Theresa Merritt, wanted him to settle down and find a nice wife."

You realize that "That's My Mama" was once a television show if you're old enough. So you may not have needed the description provided by Wikipedia.

That’s My Mama” got a remake in the mid-1980s. ABC reset Fred Berry (Rerun) and his crew as "What's Happening Now," so ABC replicated it with “That’s My Mama Now.”

Both iterations of the show were a bit of a spoof. The question today though is where the mamas are nowadays. Who and where are the daddies, the grandparents? Too many of our kids are just out of control.

All over the nation, we are constantly stunned by the images of students running roughshod over teachers, administrators, and school security personnel. Unfortunately, the recent videos from Desoto High are the talk of the town. The scenes were disheartening.

DeSoto, per capita, is among the five most affluent Black neighborhoods/enclaves/communities in the nation. The 2020 Census reported that DeSoto had a population of 52,190. It is the 70th largest city in Texas and the 759th largest city in the United States.

The average household income in DeSoto is $85,443, with a median house value of $169,800. The median age in DeSoto is 38.9 years, 37.8 years for males, and 39.9 years for females. Those numbers are higher than average, especially for a city that is 70% African American.

The concept of the best and the brightest has never sat well with me. Dr. W.E.B. DuBois and his theories about the Talented Tenth are noble but filled with flaws.

But I do side with the Bible passage that says, “To whom much is given much is required.”

That being said…

As a former longtime resident and taxpayer, it galls me most to see what’s happening in DeSoto. These kids don't live in poverty or squalor. They don't know what it means to miss a meal, do without the necessities, or wonder why the lights, water, and gas have been shut off.

DeSoto has the potential to be the model for urban living in the United States. DeSoto is a community that bears testimony to the value of education, hard work, and drive. People around the nation are attracted to solid, well-managed school systems. DeSoto must reclaim that reputation.

For the most part, DeSoto’s problems arise among overly-pampered, wannabee gangsters who mimic what they see on Tik Tok or Twitter. Too many of our children gravitate to the glamorized “street legacies” of thug life and hard times.

Sadly, the spiraling spate of unwarranted shootings we are seeing in urban centers says that our village is broken.

Our boys buy guns because they aren’t strong enough to take an ass whipping like men. Few brothers over 40 years of age can tell you that they never had a fight or won every scuffle. Disagreements happen and can be settled without lethal weapons.

The public embarrassment and an unsightly Black eye will subside. However, the private pain of watching your son receive a life sentence at the hand of a judge or by another gun-wielding teen lasts a lifetime.

I wholeheartedly believe and can honestly say that if you are a Black man over the age of 30 and have not been to prison, you probably had a mother or parents who took charge and responsibility.

Black mothers would “go upside your head” no matter how old or how big and buffed you got back in the day.

All Black moms then sang from the same sacred hymnal. They sang their own Negro Spirituals.

“Negro if you ever get big enough to whip me, you better let me win. Boy, if you touch me in your dreams, you better wake up and apologize.”

If you ever see a short well-aging woman named Patricia, that's my mama. And I am walking on this side of the graveyard, without an orange jumpsuit because of her.

Our children need us…Badly!

Vincent L. Hall is an author, activist, and an award-winning columnist.

Brother Biden, Please keep another promise or two

THE LAST WORD

By Dr. Julianne Malveaux

I do this thing in my head with President Joe Biden. When he gets on my nerves, I often call him President. When I want something from him or want to thank him for something, I call him Brother Biden. As I write this, I thank him for our incoming Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and I'm celebrating her gracious, humble, generous presence like so many of us. This woman inspires me, and that's an understatement.

I admire how she has managed to keep her effervescent smile through the kind of nonsense that would have me throwing punches. Ted Cruz, really? Lindsey Graham, really? These privileged white men attempted to rattle the cage of a woman who could be taken off her game. May we all have some measure of her restraint.

So thank you, Brother Biden, for doing the right thing. But it isn't the only right thing you can do. You talked about reparations during the 2020 campaign.

Now there is legislation in the House of Representatives to pass HR 40, the legislation that Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) introduced annually since 1989, and that Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) is now carrying.

The votes are almost there, but the Senate will not pass it. Why not do an executive order to study the reparations issue officially. It would take a stroke of your pen to make this happen. Why won't you do the right thing?

You also agreed to forgive some student loan debt. While it is clear that there is some pushback on forgiving all debt, why not take the first step by forgiving some of it?

DELIVERING NEWS YOU CAN USETEXASMetroNews

Publisher : Cheryl Smith Editor: editor@myimessenger.com Address: 320 S.R.L. Thornton Freeway Suite 100 Dallas, Tx 75203 Website: www.texasmetronews.com Phone: 214-941-0110 CREDO OF THE BLACK PRESS

The Black Press believes that America can best lead the world away from racial and national antagonisms when it accords to every person, regardless of race, color or creed, full human and legal rights. Hating no person, fearing no person, the Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief that all are hurt as long as anyone is held back.

President Joe Biden

5

Our Personal Gethsemanes

FAITHFUL UTTERANCES

By Dr. Froswa Booker-Drew

Easter brings out several thoughts and emotions for me. I am often amazed and at the same time saddened by what Christ experienced as He prepared for death. In knowing that He would be betrayed and placed on the cross, how can you wrap your mind around such a journey to reach such an impactful purpose?

As Jesus went to pray in the garden of Gethsemane, he states, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.” (Matthew 26:38) To be overcome with such grief and pain must be debilitating and yet, he depended upon his disciples to be there in his most needed hour so that He could pray and seek God.

His disciples let Him down by falling asleep. It’s easy to see the disciples through the eyes of superiority—why couldn’t they just stay up and pay attention? This really forces each of us to reflect on the moments that others have asked us to be available only to find ourselves distracted by our own needs in the moment.

The disciples found themselves struggling in their humanity. It’s in those moments that we recognize our need and dependency upon Christ. Otherwise, we are going to always fall short. (Romans 3:23) They were near Christ and still lost sight of the goal.

The same thing happens to us in our relationships with friends, but we also do it in our relationship with God. It is important that we stay focused, that we pray and that we are not willing to give up even when we are heavy with burdens. God never promised that it would be easy, but would He did say is that He would not leave us. (Deuteronomy 31:6-8) He doesn’t.

Yet, as humans, leaving isn’t always physical. Leaving can be our minds drifting, our spirits connecting to influences that are not good for us or allowing our emotions to take control instead of allowing God to remain in the driver’s seat. We all have our Gethsemanes—our places of suffering.

We will have experiences that are overwhelming and can literally drain all our focus, energy, and desire. Some of those experiences can keep us paralyzed, unable to move forward and we find ourselves drifting off to sleep spiritually or mentally.

Unlike Christ, as much as we want to do what’s right, it’s hard. Jesus stated, “For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) Sometimes, we mess up royally. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans

7:15) Jesus’ response to his disciples is a key for us—Christ did not stop praying even though

He was fully aware of the difficulty of the journey. Even as Jesus faced the accusations from the Sanhedrin, He never lost sight of the goal in mind. He continued to focus on the resurrection despite the pain of betrayal by those

He loved and walked with, others who misunderstood Him, a crowd choosing a murderer to release over Him, and a governmental system that knew He had done no wrong but allowed his death to occur. (Matthew 26-27) We might find ourselves with a slew of reasons to give up because of how much we face.

We must focus on the promises of God even when we find ourselves distracted or even witnessing things around us disappear or even die.

My emotions overwhelm me in knowing what Christ endured for me and for you. Yet, Easter is a reminder that He lives and that no matter what you are facing, with Christ, those things that are hard, that appear dead and gone can live again! Stay focused, remain in Him and know that your life can be resurrected when you surrender all to God who has already won the victory for YOU!

My emotions overwhelm me in knowing what Christ endured for me and for you. Yet, Easter is a reminder that He lives and that no matter what you are facing, with Christ, those things that are hard, that appear dead and gone can live again! Stay focused, remain in Him and know that your life can be resurrected when you surrender all to God who has already won the victory for YOU!

Dr. Froswa’ Booker-Drew is the host of the Tapestry Podcast and the author of three books for women. She is also the Vice President of Community Affairs for the State Fair of Texas. To learn more, visit drfroswa. com.

America Needs Humanitarian Relief, Too

OUR VOICES

By Dr. John E. Warren

It is a good thing that America has been a lead nation in both providing humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine.

It is good that we as a nation, Democrat and Republican, have been able to unify on this most important issue facing the world.

It is also a good thing that America has been able to give hundreds of millions of doses of the COVID-19 Vaccine to struggling third world countries where people are waiting in lines while Americans refuse vaccinations for all kinds of reasons.

But while all of this is a good thing, let us not forget the looming crisis ahead of us. The fact is that the virus, with its ever increasing mutations, is not over.

There are still over 750 people dying daily from this virus even though hospital rates and the daily death rates are down from what they were just months ago. Infection cases are up across the country with some states experiencing higher rates than others and a number of cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. have had to reinstate their mask mandates.

In the midst of the Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis, the new surge in infections across the country, and continued death rates, the United States Congress refused to pass a 22 billion dollar funding bill to continue testing, vaccinations, and the funding for Covid-19 related supplies before adjourning for the Easter/ Spring Recess.

Much of the opposition, again, is coming from the (Russian-like) Republican Party not only denying and refusing to support and vote for such funds, but also leaving out much needed continuation dollars for programs to feed the hungry.

This pull back on funds for testing and vaccinations is also impacting those American companies that geared up to produce Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at the height of the pandemic when supplies were no longer available from our foreign sources.

Now, with this cutback in federal funds, many of these companies are on the verge of going out of business because America is withdrawing the very funds that allowed hospitals and others to purchase the PPE items they were able to buy until this cutoff.

How can we find billions of dollars to support all elements of the Ukraine Humanitarian crisis, but not have money for our own people here at home? Those Americans who are still unvaccinated, and mainly by choice, still represent a threat to the rest of us.

The government’s distribution of personal testing kits cannot become a substitute for providing the kind of care and supplies that have allowed us to avoid millions of additional deaths because, at the time, we funded the very things we are now threatening to withhold.

Let us not forget the saying “Charity starts at home and then spreads abroad”.

Mr. President, Members of Congress, America is “home”.

Let's not create another humanitarian crisis here because of party politics.

The government’s distribution of personal testing kits cannot become a substitute for providing the kind of care and supplies that have allowed us to avoid millions of additional deaths because, at the time, we funded the very things we are now threatening to withhold.