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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Whom does the author describe as "the God I never had"?
(a) His mother.
(b) His soul.
(c) His wife.
(d) His son.

2. Where does the author begin his memoir?
(a) In a bar.
(b) During a riot.
(c) During an interview.
(d) At an auction.

3. What does the author tell his son about promises?
(a) A man's word is his bond.
(b) A promise lasts forever.
(c) No promise is unbreakable.
(d) A promise is worth its weight in gold.

4. What advantages has the author's son had growing up?
(a) Wealth and private schools.
(b) A safer neighborhood, better schools and more freedom.
(c) Less racism, the Internet and a world culture.
(d) A black president, social networks, omnipresent media and black culture.

5. What bothers the author about artists like Michael Jackson?
(a) He did not finish what he started.
(b) His lyrics are without meaning.
(c) He represents the nonviolent black man.
(d) He used cosmetic surgery to appeal to a white fanbase.

Short Answer Questions

1. What view does the author have of the afterlife?

2. Who were the first white people the author knew on a personal level?

3. How old was Tamir Rice when he was shot?

4. What sense does the author describe experiencing as he watched television as a child?

5. What difference does the author see between his childhood and that of his son?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author mean when he says the school system and the streets are "two arms of the same beast"?

2. According to the author, how have American police departments been given the right to destroy black bodies without the fear of recrimination?

3. What revelation does the author have about the European perception of Africans during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?

4. What is meant by "Tolstoy is the Tolstoy of the Zulus?"

5. How does the author use poetry to express his thoughts?

6. How does research and study affect the author as a young man?

7. What assumptions does the author make about PG County (Prince George's County) police officers and why?

8. According to the author, why is America blind to it's racially defined shortcomings?

9. How does the author compare his childhood to that of his son?

10. What is the symbolism behind the author's son's name?

(see the answer keys)

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