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Noted psychologist shares unique approach to learning
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
"Barack Obama is not the
hope of America; YOU are the
hope of America."
Those are the words of
Afrocentric Scholar Na'im
Akbar, who has been hailed by
Essence magazine as "one of
the world's preeminent psy
chologists and a pioneer in the
development of an African
centered approach in modern
psychology."
Akbar says the
burden is on every
American K>
embody his or her
own ideal of great
ness.
"We all have the
responsibility dur
ing our life period
to make the world a
better place," he
commented.
"Every one of us
nas ine responsiDuity to oe
what we have kind of project
ed on Obama."
Akbar, the author of sever
al books and a member of the
faculty at Florida State
University, shared these and
other pearls of wisdom with a
group of more than 100 educa
tors and community members
from as far away as Virginia in
a daylong workshop on "Black
History and Black
Psychology: Correcting the
Miseducation of African
American Children" at Carter
G. Woodson School of
Challenge.
The workshop was pre
sented as part of Project
TEACH (Teaching Excellence
in American Civic History).
Funded by a three year, $1.9
million grant from the U.S.
Department of Education,
DeWitt
Project TEACH was designed
to increase the test scores of
North Carolina students in the
areas of civics, history and
economics. The project arose
from a grant authored by April
Broadway and Aynn Daniels
of Nfinity Consulting Group, a
locally -based resource devel
opment company that special
izes in research and grant
management and Lianda
Resource Solutions.
"What Project TEACH has
attempted to do is find ways to
be creative and
experiential in
bringing civics and
economics alive,"
Daniels said of the
program.
Faculty members
from Winston-Salem
State University ahd
North Carolina
Central University
partnered with
Nfinity on the proj
ect, providing guidance and
support to teachers at Carter
G. Woodson and other charter
schools in the areas of U.S.
history, civics and economics,
subjects where North Carolina
students tend to falter.
"We've met with Project
TEACH participants, we've
given them strategies and ped
agogy and shown them how
they can make it more inter
esting for the students,"
explained Agnes DeWitt,
Project TEACH program coor
dinator for NCCU. "...the
participants have grown in
their knowledge and in their
strategies for presenting that
knowledge."
Students' test scores have
risen in the subjects covered
by the project, according to
Carter G. Woodson Director
Ruth Hopkins, who added that
Photos by LayU Fanner
Black Chamber President Randon Pender gets her blood pres
sure checked Tuesday.
Hypertension
frompaftAl ,
! "'i ?* 1
evaluate new ones. She is
hopeful that building relation
ships with the people she
encounters will help the pro
gram to be more effective in
the community.
You get to
know (participants)
on a little bit more
personal basis (with
follow up visits).
You're establishing
a relationship with
them," she said. "I
think that will make
more of a difference
in certain respects."
Hypertension on
Wheels will target
Atrican Americans specifical
ly, Joyner says, because they
have a greater risk for high
blood pressure.
More than 39 percent of
African Americans in Forsyth
County have hypertension, as
compared to approximately
28 percent of their Caucasian
counterparts and 24 percent of
English speaking Hispanics in
the area. This trend is evident
across the nation, Joyner says.
"Across the board nation
JoyHtr
wide, (hypertension rates are)
higher with African
Americans," she stated.
"That's just kind of a known
phenomenon."
Joyner hopes to see 200
400 individuals participate in
the program over the course
of a 12-month period.
Winston-Salem
Black Chamber of
Commerce
President Randon
Pender invited
Joyner to bring
Hypertension on
Wheels to the orga
nization's meeting
Tuesday to test and
screen members.
"I'm a health
care professional
and Iknow that to function at
your optimum level, you must
have a healthy body, mind and
spirit," said Pender, a regis
tered nurse. "Keeping a
check on the blood pressure
will prevent major health
issues down the road."
For more information
about Hypertension on
Wheels or to book a visit, con
tact Joyner at (336) 716-9522
or jjoyner?wfubmc edu .
Photos by LayU Parmer
Na'im Akbar shares one of his books with Ruth Hopkins, right, and Hazel Mack.
the school was "very pleased"
with the program.
"It was a way to work
cooperatively with the state of
North Carolina ... to strength
en and increase U.S. history.
civics and economics test
scores," Hopkins said of the
project. "It was teacher
friendly and usable."
The project is designed to
be disseminated to teachers
who join the roster at partici
pating schools in the coming
years, so that its work will
extend beyond the life of the
grant.
Akbar praised both the
school and the project for
being committed to enhancing
thfe education of youth.
"It's been an exciting
experience for me because the
tradition that Carter G.
Woodson stood for in both his
life and his work was to help
us better understand that the
real power of effectiveness is
in knowing who we are," the
scholar said. "I felt alrtiost to
be in a sanctuary or a memori
al to what his tradition repre
sented."
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