In an interview, Bambara has said that "An awful lot of my stories . . . were written, I suspect, with performance in mind." With a group of classmates, construct a staging and performance of Hazel's role and voice for your class. Ask the audience to write about what performing the story contributes to its meaning and impact.

Consider "Raymond's Run" in light of social and economic conditions for African American women at the time. Research the historical attitudes toward black women and social conditions for women such as education, position in the family, employment, availability of community services, and average family incomes in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Consider the depiction of Raymond as a mentally challenged character by comparing him with other such characters in literature and film, such as those portrayed in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and Daniel Keyes'...