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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. Why did two Montgomery police come on board the bus?

2. Who was Miss Geraldine Nesbitt?

3. What is one thing Jim Crow did to the blacks?

4. To what is Fred Gray committed?

5. From where did Geraldine Nesbitt hold an M.A.?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Claudette change under Nesbitt's mentoring and what did she read that made her what to help the black people?

2. What kept blacks poor and what kind of work did most blacks do?

3. How did many blacks feel about integration in the schools and how did Claudette feel about it?

4. How did Claudette feel on the way home, what did her family fear and what did their Reverend say about the incident?

5. Who was Claudette's lawyer, what did he do for her defense and what were the charges?

6. What happened to Claudette in the black community following her incident and how did some feel about it?

7. How old was Claudette when she found out what happened when blacks acted up against whites and how did she acquire that knowledge?

8. How did Claudette's mother find out where she was and who did she bring with her?

9. When was Brown v. Board of Education decided, who decided it and what did it do?

10. How did the incident on the bus with Claudette start?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Gray met with Claudette's family after the event and took notes and urged the family to consider the hazard of contesting the charges. She would be challenging Jim Crow and could suffer violence. Claudette did not hesitate and the Colvins would not back down.

1. Discuss the Jim Crow laws in relationship to Claudette's life. This may require research. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. Claudette did not hesitate in her decision to challenge Jim Crow. Discuss why Claudette could be considered a heroine. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. Discuss the types of violence Claudette and her family might be facing for challenging the system. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

The summer of 1952, Delphine came down with polio, and it also hit a number of other black boys and girls. Her parents didn't allow her to see Delphine in her condition. Claudette did not see her until she was dead. Claudette then started to question everything about God because she didn't understand why God would take Delphine away.

1. Do you think questioning beliefs about God is a normal reaction for a teenager whose sister has died? Why or why not? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. Discuss the irony of the fact of segregation and prejudice when it was a black woman, Henrietta Lacks, whose cells provided the basis for the polio vaccine. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. How do you think Delphine's death helped motivate Claudette to become an activist? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Through the summer of 1956, the city officials tried to crush the boycott and singled out Dr. King. The NAACP sent reinforcements, but King was found guilty of trumped up charges and was sentenced to spend a year in hard labor. Churches started to be bombed and violence erupted.

1. Discuss what problems there are in a justice system in which someone can be convicted of trumped up charges. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. With research discuss why the NAACP might send help to Dr. King. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. There are some people who believe no change can come without violence. Defend or refute this statement.

Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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