Priceless Vol 7 Number 12


Personal and Professional Empowerment www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


Serving Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach since 2006


Keys on Fire Organ Showcase in Norfolk


Page 8


Innovative Program Helps Hampton Roads Science Teachers Create Hands-On Learning Environments


Nikki Giovanni at 70 Grieves for Trayvon, Rocks for Hip-Hop


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Local Fraternity Chapters Serve Together in the Community


Page 10 A Rare Book By Another Obama BY MARK HARTSELL The Library of Congress holds a rare


book written decades ago in Kenya by the father of the 44th U.S. president.


The author’s name, listed on the title


page, is familiar even if the language is not: “olosi gi Barack H. Obama.” The language is Luo, an African tribal dialect, and the Obama in question isn’t the 44th president of the United States, but his father.


The African and Middle Eastern


Division of the Library of Congress holds an exceedingly rare copy—only four are believed to exist—of a book written decades ago in Kenya by the president’s father. “Otieno, the Wise Man,” or “Otieno Jarieko” in the original Luo, was published in Kenya in 1959 to promote literacy at a time when adult illiteracy was widespread.


The slim, 40-page volume also is the


Nicole Cogar, a teacher at Churchland Academy, works with a student during the two-week camp. Photo credit: Krista Root


Students in Hampton


Roads will learn about science in a whole new way next fall. Teachers from eleven area schools were selected to join an innovative, free professional development project designed to change the way science is taught in elementary schools across the state.


Their year-long


participation in the Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement (VISTA) kicks off this summer with a four-week training institute. Its goal is to shift from the


traditional teacher-led classroom to a hands-on, problem-based learning lab. VISTA, funded by one of the biggest grants ever awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, was created to validate existing research that shows this hands-on learning model improves student learning.


As part of the institute,


area students were invited to attend a free, two-week camp. The embedded student camps give teachers a chance to practice the hands-on approach they are learning. Students are


INNOVATIVE PROGRAM PAGE 2 THIS EDITION’S HIGHLIGHTS


Your Opinion Matters Editorial Health Hampton Roads Upcoming Events Scholarships Watch


Remind Students: There Is Still Money Available for College A New Look for Racial Profiling


Healthy Life Expectancies at Age 65 Portsmouth’s Enterprise Zone: Incentive Results Cookout and Back to School Supply Giveaway Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest


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product of a collaboration that proved pivotal in the Obama story—the book’s editor helped Obama Sr. get to the United States, where he met and married a woman with whom he had the child who would become the first African American to be elected president.


“Books like ‘Otieno’ are part of the


historical documentation of presidents and their families,” said Mary-Jane Deeb, chief of the African and Middle Eastern Division. “This book documents, in a tangible way, the father of the first African American president.


Young Barack Obama with his late father


It helps show what his values and interests were and helps illustrate what kind of man he was.”


“Otieno, the Wise Man” was a


three-volume series produced by the Kenya Adult Literacy Program and published by the East African Literature Bureau to promote


ANOTHER OBAMA PAGE 3


How to Improve Your Credit History and Pay Less for Loans


A credit report provides a


record of your history of paying loans and bills, including any late payments. These reports are important because they can affect your ability to qualify for a low-cost loan or insurance policy, rent an apartment or find a job. However, a recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study found that a number of consumers had errors on their credit reports that could lead to them paying more for loans. What can you do to improve your credit reports?


Pay your bills on time. “If you’re late


30 days or more, the lender may report your account as delinquent to a credit reporting agency, and that will damage your credit history,” said Kirk Daniels, Acting Section Chief in the FDIC’s Consumer Protection Branch. “But your credit history will improve over time if you can avoid another late payment on your record.”


Reduce the amount that you owe on


credit cards and other lines of credit. That will help improve your credit score, a numerical summary of your credit record as prepared by one of many companies. If you close an account you have paid in full and haven’t used in a while, your debt-to-credit ratio (the amount you owe on credit cards compared to your credit limit) will increase. That could


YOUR CREDIT PAGE 5


Free August 2013


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