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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. What is the title of the widely-circulated comic depicting the significant difference between what a white mother says to her son as he walks out the door, versus what a black mother says to her son as he walks out the door?
(a) Carefree and Panicked.
(b) Black and Blue.
(c) The Goin' Out Blues.
(d) Still Two Americas.

2. How many men does Mitchell Jackson name as belonging to his group of father figures?
(a) Four.
(b) Seven.
(c) Five.
(d) Six.

3. What belief does Mitchell Jackson hold that he underscores by calling it his "beating heart" (179)?
(a) Girls need mothers.
(b) Girls need fathers.
(c) Boys need mothers.
(d) Boys need fathers.

4. How does the author of "The Condition of Black Life is One of Mourning" end her list of rules that she says may help a black person avoid being killed?
(a) No living while black.
(b) No hands in your pockets.
(c) No standing your ground.
(d) No walking at night.

5. In order to get away from the site of the murder of her son, Tamir Rice, Samaria Rice moved out of her Cleveland home and into what type of dwelling?
(a) A hotel.
(b) A relative's home.
(c) A homeless shelter.
(d) A condominium.

Short Answer Questions

1. What two things does Kevin Young state that people must not have done in a while if they are surprised by "a white lady darkening her skin and curling her hair"? (106)

2. What belief did Kiese Laymon's grandmother hold that he points to as the only reason he is alive?

3. When the author of the essay "Black and Blue" was warned by university officials to avoid walking in certain areas of the city, what threat does he mistakenly think he is being warned about?

4. How does the author of "The Condition of Black Life is One of Mourning" characterize the attempt by some white people to amend the language of the Black Lives Matter movement to All Lives Matter?

5. For the completion of what task did Kiese Laymon's grandmother used to stay up late on Saturday nights?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways did Kiese Laymon feel validated and inspired by the words of Andre 3000 at the Source Awards of 1995?

2. How is paradox employed within the poem "Queries of Unrest" and to what effect?

3. Why does Garnette Cadogan hold out hope that he will not encounter the same problems while walking in New York City that he had while walking in New Orleans?

4. How does the poem "Queries of Unrest" connect to the part of the collection that it opens, entitled Reckoning?

5. Name at least three actions that the author of "Composite Pops" attributes to all of the men he describes as Pops, his composite father.

6. Why does Kevin Young insert "[name withheld]" rather than naming the killer responsible for the murders in Charleston?

7. What does Garnette Cadogan mean when he writes that "the way home became home" (130) during his childhood in Jamaica?

8. What two reasons does the author of "Know Your Rights" give for being bothered by her four-year-old son's tantrum during the family's walk to High Bridge?

9. At the start of the essay "The Condition of Black Life is One of Mourning," why do the two women talking about one's recent arrival of a son laugh when the new mother says her first thought had been how she could get her baby boy out of America?

10. How does Kevin Young, the author of the essay "Blacker Than Thou" support his point that similarities and solidarity among black people are more about culture than about physical appearances?

(see the answer keys)

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