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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. How did the author's father react when the author threatened his 9th grade teacher?
(a) His father confronted the teacher.
(b) His father beat him.
(c) His father called the police.
(d) His father confronted the principal.

2. What realization does the author have about his university education?
(a) It was designed to break down myths and reveal the truth about humanity.
(b) He was never going to learn everything he needed to know.
(c) It was a pointless as his public school education.
(d) It was going to provide him with the skills to be a great writer.

3. Where is Howard University located?
(a) Baltimore, MD.
(b) Atlanta, GA.
(c) Washington, D.C.
(d) Hampton, VA.

4. How did the author spend most of his time at The Mecca?
(a) Reading and taking notes on black literature and essays.
(b) Absorbing culture and music.
(c) Arguing politics on the Lawn.
(d) Listening to and writing poetry.

5. Who is Linda Heywood?
(a) A protester from the Lawn.
(b) A musician the author met at The Mecca.
(c) An American poet.
(d) A Howard professor specialized in Central Africa.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the author describe as the "enemy of art, courageous thinking and honest writing"?

2. Why does the author feel the interview at the beginning of his memoir was a failure?

3. What important skills did the author's mother teach him?

4. To whom is the memoir addressed?

5. According to the author, slavery transfigured black bodies into:

Short Essay Questions

1. What influence did Malcom X have on the author as a young man?

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

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

4. According to the author, what is the purpose of the public school system?

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

6. According to the author, how has the lack of fathers and father-figures affected black children?

7. Why didn't the author console his son when Samori grieved over the release of Michael Brown's killer?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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