After working in the hospital setting for about eleven years, my nursing career changed courses. I cared for many hospitalized patients who were the working poor or below poverty level. Research indicates that poverty is a known contributor to psychological conditions, and chronic and complex medical conditions that can lead to an earlier death. My …
Thirty one years after moving from the small military town in Millington, Tennessee, I was back. I drove down Navy Road, half expecting to see the same bustling Naval Base that I remember as a wide eyed child. I saw a few sailors and Marines walking on the base. There were no civilians waiting on …
After returning to Memphis, I was a divorced mother of two young children. I wanted them to have a good healthy life. A stressed out mother who was trying to live above her needs would not provide this life. A previous high consumption lifestyle taught me to live beneath my means. I patterned my parenting …
After marrying, my husband and I had our first beautiful baby girl. My husband had a job offer in Salt Lake City, Utah and we moved out West to get a fresh start. We loaded our furniture, all our belongings, and the baby blue Firebird in a U Haul truck. Using the map Rom gave …
Before I got married, I dated a young man I met while working in the hospital. He was a medical student, and I was a registered nurse. We dated about a year. He was a couple years older and grew up in a wealthy family in another state. His parents financed his education and provided him …
My name is Tracy R. Jacox. People know me as Ms. Tracy. I am the founder of Original Origins Health and Wellness, LLC. I am the proud daughter and descendant of Vie. She was the third child of my grandparents, MaDear and Dad. Vie was the sister of Francie Mae, Tippy, Lil Bro and Rom. …
After graduating college, I was excited and ready to start my new career in nursing! I was twenty one years old and had a job with benefits that paid competitive wages. I thought about my family’s life in poverty. My parents didn’t have these opportunities. Systemic racism was a reason why they did not. Dad …
The 1970’s were an exciting time. As college students, we were adjusting to the times and to fashion. Our fashion was an expression of our personalities. Males and females wore their hair in stylish Afro’s to reflect ethnic heritage. Females wore Afro puffs, love knots, or kept their hair long. My hair was too long …
After traveling approximately 200 miles from Memphis along Interstate 40 East, Vie, her husband and I arrived at historic predominately black Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. The school was affectionately known as TSU. I was surprised that there were no cotton fields in Nashville. The terrain changed. Instead of flat land with rich soil …
According to an article written by Michelle Lee, “The American Economy of the 60s and 70s”, during the 1960’s, the government struggled to slow inflation and stabilize the economy. When President Johnson came into office, he implemented the Great Society of the 1960’s. The Vietnam War and the War on Poverty were top priorities. The …