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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. Who took care of the author's son while his mother was away?
(a) His step-mother.
(b) The author's mother.
(c) The author.
(d) The author's grandmother.

2. Whom did the author shove when his son was pushed off the escalator?
(a) A man who came to the woman's defense.
(b) A police officer.
(c) No one.
(d) A mall security guard.

3. Why does the author fear the PG County police?
(a) PG County officers have a reputation for being violent with black men.
(b) PG County laws are more strict than other areas in Maryland.
(c) He offended the mayor of PG County in a newspaper article.
(d) He was in the PG County jail as a teenager.

4. What did the author have to learn from his son's mother?
(a) How to tell his son he loved him.
(b) How to interpret train schedules.
(c) How to speak French.
(d) How to order in a restaurant.

5. What did the city of Manhattan try to build over a slave burial site?
(a) A department store and a government building.
(b) The Twin Towers.
(c) A park and a museum.
(d) A school.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which Howard University student was shot by a PG County officer shortly after the author's encounter with the police?

2. How did the death of Prince Jones affect the author emotionally?

3. What comparison does the author make between the police officer who shot Prince Jones and the ones who died on September 11?

4. What hope does the author have for his son?

5. How was the officer who killed Prince Jones dressed?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Why are black children told to be "twice as good"?

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

5. What does the author mean by every country having an "above" and a "below"?

6. What reasons does the author give for Prince Jones' behavior prior to his death?

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

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

9. How does the author contrast black and white societies?

10. Why is the author's fear of his son seeing him arrested greater than his fear of being arrested?

(see the answer keys)

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