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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 was the officer who killed Prince Jones dressed?
(a) As an undercover drug dealer.
(b) As a homeless man.
(c) In plain clothes.
(d) In a patrol uniform.

2. What event did the author witness on September 11, 2001?
(a) The Great Chicago Fire.
(b) The bombing of the World Trade Center.
(c) The attack on the Twin Towers.
(d) Hurricane Katrina.

3. When the author sees a police officer, he automatically thinks:
(a) Someone is trying to protect him.
(b) Nothing.
(c) Something is wrong.
(d) He is not at fault.

4. Who was Abraham Brian?
(a) A slave who led the underground railroad.
(b) A black soldier for the Confederacy.
(c) A white congressman who lobbied for the rights of free black men.
(d) A free black man who left his home to escape the threat of slavery.

5. What photographs did the mother of the author's son take while she was away?
(a) Pottery.
(b) Doors.
(c) Famous statues.
(d) Street sleepers.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the author wish he had done differently with the woman who pushed his son?

2. What Civil War battlefield did the author visit with his son and nephew?

3. The dead boy's mother channeled her anger into _____.

4. Why did the author feel it was unnecessary to forgive the man who killed Prince Jones?

5. How does the author describe the love of white families for their children?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reasons does the author give for the anger of the man who was having his home repossessed?

2. How, does Coats write, have his eyes been damaged by what he has seen?

3. According to the author, how is racism experienced through city planning and real estate?

4. What is the significance of the author's description of the slave burial plot in southern Manhattan?

5. How does the death of the boy on page 112 (Jordan Davis) reinforce the author's theory that the "Dream" is dangerous?

6. What reasons does the author give for the woman feeling validated in pushing his son off the escalator?

7. According to the author, how does the fear of losing one's life promote violence?

8. What lesson does the mother of the boy on page 112 (Lucia McBath) try to impart to the author's son?

9. Why does the author worry that others will tell his son that the lessons he is trying to teach are an unnecessary part of the past?

10. Why has the author been too afraid to encourage his son to stand up for his rights?

(see the answer keys)

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