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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The author of the essay "Black and Blue" states that seeing a lone woman walking at night in Jamaica was as common a sight as the sight of what mythic creature?
(a) Unicorn.
(b) Loch Ness Monster.
(c) Sasquatch.
(d) Leprechaun.

2. What is NOT one of the services Mitchell Jackson says had been provided to him by one or all of his group of father figures?
(a) They had bestowed him with wisdom.
(b) They had made sure he knew it was in him to surpass them.
(c) They had given him tough love when he needed it.
(d) They had nurtured him.

3. Which black female artist's work does Kiese Laymon set up as a counterpoint to the work of OutKast?
(a) Missy Elliott.
(b) Queen Latifah.
(c) Lauryn Hill.
(d) Jill Scott.

4. When Kevin Young states that being black is not a feeling and is not "simply a state of mind" (109), what does he say blackness is instead?
(a) A way of believing.
(b) A way of acting.
(c) A way of living.
(d) A way of being.

5. The essay entitled "Black and Blue" takes its name from a song by what African-American musician?
(a) James Brown.
(b) Muddy Waters.
(c) Jelly Roll Morton.
(d) Fats Waller.

6. How old was Tamir Rice at the time he was shot and killed by Cleveland police officers?
(a) 20.
(b) 16.
(c) 18.
(d) 12.

7. When Kiese Laymon invites his grandmother up to Oxford where he lives at the time, why does she refuse to come?
(a) Because her health is too poor for such a long trip.
(b) Because there is a music festival happening in her hometown.
(c) Because Kiese is the only black person she knows in Oxford.
(d) Because she does not like to infringe upon Kiese's privacy.

8. When Kevin Young, the author of "Blacker Than Thou" outlines his next book for the reader, under what type of text does he say his new book falls?
(a) Memoir.
(b) Nonfiction.
(c) Satire.
(d) Poetry.

9. For how many years had The High Bridge been inactive before reopening again just before Emily Raboteau and her family took a walk across it?
(a) Thirty-plus.
(b) Twenty-plus.
(c) Fifty-plus.
(d) Forty-plus.

10. What name did Kiese Laymon call his grandmother?
(a) Gran.
(b) Granny.
(c) Grandmama.
(d) Mama.

11. What emotion did Emily Dickinson define as "the thing with feathers" (166)?
(a) Freedom.
(b) Hope.
(c) Courage.
(d) Despair.

12. What does Emily Raboteau say had been the primary goal of the perpetrator of the previous week's tragedy on the day her family walks over The High Bridge?
(a) Getting the police to shoot him.
(b) Making a statement about bullying.
(c) Driving black people back into segregation.
(d) Igniting a race war.

13. What two qualities of his grandmother's does Kiese Laymon say he did not understand or feel inspired by until he heard his first OutKast album?
(a) Her stank and freshness.
(b) Her light and heat.
(c) Her funk and business sense.
(d) Her smile and soul.

14. When discussing the murders at Emanuel Methodist Church, the author of "The Condition of Black Life is One of Mourning" states, "But Dylann Storm Roof did not create himself from" (146) what element?
(a) From a place of understanding.
(b) From nothing.
(c) From God's image.
(d) From the foundation of a strong upbringing.

15. What adverb is repeated 14 times within the poem "Queries of Unrest"?
(a) Ostensibly.
(b) Maybe.
(c) Possibly.
(d) Perhaps.

Short Answer Questions

1. What tragic event had occurred the week before Emily Raboteau took her family on a walk over The High Bridge?

2. What is the term used for a person's ability to be regarded as belonging to a different race, culture, or group different from their own?

3. When Kiese Laymon states all of the things that the album ATLliens brought him to love about himself, what is an item that is NOT on his list?

4. To end his essay "Blacker Than Thou," what three fruits does Kevin Young recollect eating in the morning?

5. After what meal did Kiese Laymon's grandmother make him take a teaspoon of cod liver oil whenever he stayed with her?

(see the answer keys)

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