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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the author recall always having, even when times were hard?

2. Which protest sign did the author see while in France that reminded him of his blackness?

3. When the author sees a police officer, he automatically thinks:

4. What unique point does the author make about black Americans in France?

5. What does the author imagine white parents might tell their children?

Short Essay Questions

1. What revelation does the author have about police officers and authority figures after the September 11 attacks?

2. Why did the thought of encountering the Prince George's County patrol officer frighten the author?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. How did the author's trip to Paris affect his view of what it means to live in a black body?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author speaks of the complexity of human society. Describe the contrast between the reality of his Baltimore neighborhood with that of the American suburbia he viewed on TV as a child. How might this contrast have affected his personal philosophy?

Essay Topic 2

The author spends a great deal of time describing his Mecca, Howard University, as an escape from the fear that once plagued his life as a child on the streets of Baltimore. Keeping in mind that Howard is a private university that not every student can afford, what other Meccas might exist in America that could parallel the author's experience? Are there other places or experiences that could provide a similar bond of safety and community for the black student? If so, what? Is the author's Mecca a physical place or a state of mind? Explain your answer citing examples from the author's work.

Essay Topic 3

The author often refers to white people as those who "believe themselves white." He also speaks often of dissociation. How might the concept of race and dissociation be related in America today? Is race a genetic or social construct?

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