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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. In Chapter 4, when did the family take a trip to Virginia?

2. When did Aunt Sarah befriend a white girl?

3. How old was Matt when his dad spanked him for getting into a fight with Garrett and choking him?

4. Where was Nanny born?

5. How far apart in age are Lil' Rall and Rasul?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Lil' Rall thank Nanny in his letter between Chapters 2 and 3?

2. What did a girl accuse Rasul of doing at a baseball practice in 1987?

3. What salon did Johnson's mother have, and what was it like?

4. What does Johnson say in the Author's Note about how Black boys are viewed?

5. Why were Johnson and his cousins never allowed to go outside with a toy gun?

6. During the summer of 1991, where did the family travel and why?

7. Why did Johnson and his little brother Garrett go to Nanny's after school and on weekends?

8. How are barbershops a staple of the Black community?

9. What did Nanny do when Aunt Cynthia called her a bitch over the phone?

10. How did Nanny discipline the boys?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author writes about how it was dangerous for Blacks to have guns—real or toy growing up. Why was it dangerous for Blacks to have guns?

Essay Topic 2

Nanny used corporal punishment to discipline her grandsons. How did Nanny use corporal punishment? Why did Johnson believe punishment should not be the "primary form of 'justice' for bad choices" (47)?

Essay Topic 3

Johnson fondly remembers Thanksgiving dinners. How were food and Black culture interrelated? How was food “Black Joy” and a way “of showing love” (143)?

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