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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At what age does the author remember witnessing his first street fight?
(a) 12.
(b) Five.
(c) 18.
(d) Ten.

2. Why did the author refrain from comforting his son when Michael Brown's killers were set free?
(a) He was busy calling the news station.
(b) He feels he pain of grief is an important lesson.
(c) His son locked the bedroom door.
(d) He was too sad to move off the couch,

3. What acclaimed history book did Chancellor William write?
(a) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
(b) Destruction of Black Civilization.
(c) By Any Means Necessary.
(d) Notes of a Native Son.

4. What type of work did the author's father do?
(a) Police officer for Baltimore City.
(b) Freelance writer and journalist.
(c) Research librarian at Howard University.
(d) Custodian for Baltimore public schools.

5. What did the girl with the long dreads teach the author?
(a) Poetry.
(b) Distrust.
(c) French.
(d) Compassion.

6. What hobby did the author pursue while at Howard University?
(a) Poker.
(b) Poetry.
(c) Music.
(d) Bowling.

7. What sorts of toys was the author not allowed to have as a child?
(a) Anything that was non-educational.
(b) Those that used batteries.
(c) Anything made by Disney.
(d) Those with white faces.

8. According to the author, slavery transfigured black bodies into:
(a) Sugar, tobacco, cotton and gold.
(b) Beasts of burden.
(c) Hollow shells of former men.
(d) Animals.

9. Coats quotes that sixty percent of all young black men who drop out of high school will:
(a) Die before the age of 25.
(b) Go to jail.
(c) End up homeless.
(d) Join the military.

10. What sense does the author describe experiencing as he watched television as a child?
(a) Hope.
(b) Confusion.
(c) Jealousy.
(d) Injustice.

11. What is "the Yard"?
(a) A club in downtown Atlanta.
(b) An area near the docks in Virginia where students gather.
(c) A strip of green grass near the White House where protesters gather.
(d) A communal green space at Howard University when students gather.

12. How did the author's father discipline him?
(a) By taking his phone.
(b) In time-out.
(c) By slapping his face.
(d) With a belt.

13. The author views the school systems and the streets as:
(a) Arms of the same beast.
(b) Two warring nations.
(c) The different universes.
(d) Opposite ends of a pole.

14. Who is the Tolstoy of the Zulus, according to Coats?
(a) Tolstoy.
(b) Nzinga.
(c) Wiley.
(d) Medici.

15. To whom is the memoir addressed?
(a) Black Americans.
(b) The author's son.
(c) All Americans.
(d) White Americans.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the author, it is important that whether one wins or loses the fight, who should be by your side?

2. Whom does the author describe as "the God I never had"?

3. What field did the author pursue after he left Howard University?

4. What surprised the author about the sixteenth and seventeenth century portraits of Africans?

5. How did the author spend most of his time at The Mecca?

(see the answer keys)

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