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1. Why was the author giving a speech in the scenario he described in the Introduction? What was the speech about?

The author was giving a speech in the final round of the Prince William County Martin Luther King Jr. oratorical contest. The author's speech was about the struggles of Black youth, and was, in retrospect, a highly racist speech, he states.

2. How does the author describe his feelings about the speech he gave, as described in the Introduction?

The author feels deep shame about what he gave his speech about. He did not realize the racist sentiments in his speech at the time but looking back he does. Rather than giving an antiracist speech, he gave a racist speech that blamed Black youth for their position within society.

3. How are denial and racism connected, according to the author in the Introduction?

The author states, "Denial is the heartbeat of racism, beating across ideologies, races, and nations. It is beating within us. Many of us who strongly call out Trump's racist ideas will strongly deny our own" (14).

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