Dear Martin

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. The nonprofit public policy organization The Brookings Institution called the police killings of Black youth a “crisis within a crisis.” What do you think Brookings means by this phrase? Discuss recent events having to do with police brutality and/or racial injustice and discuss how The Impact of Appearances on People’s Assumptions and Perceptions plays a role in both crises.

Teaching Suggestion: Guide students to the understanding that a “crisis within a crisis” refers to the intersection of police brutality and racial injustice, both of which are on the rise in modern America. Students may have their own stories they’d like to share here, perhaps about how the crises affect their own lives; alternatively, they may be reluctant to share, or uncomfortable with the subject in general. In the latter case, you may opt to discuss cases that made national headlines, such as the killing of Trayvon Martin or the killing of Freddie Gray.

• Have students read the Brookings Institution piece “A crisis within a crisis: Police killings of Black emerging adults.” The piece features a useful series of infographics that depict key findings related to police violence and racially motivated killings.
• For more visually oriented students, you can show this presentation created by Al Jazeera entitled “Know their names: Black people killed by the police in the US.”

2. When you think of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., what first comes to mind? Name some words or phrases that you associate with Dr. King, Jr. (for instance, “peace,” “non-violence,” or “Montgomery bus boycotts”). How can we relate these keywords to the primary tenets of his teachings?

Teaching Suggestion: Acquainting students with the biographical details of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, the philosophies behind his teachings, and the key historical social justice movements that he inspired will help students have a deeper, richer understanding of the theme Inspiration and Challenges in Dr. King’s Teachings.

• Students can learn the basic biographical details of Dr. King’s life in this Biography article.
• In this speech delivered by Dr. King in 1960 to a group of students in Atlanta, he outlines his philosophy of nonviolence.
• The NAACP gives an overview of Dr. King’s social justice achievements in his fight for Black civil rights in the 1960s. It also includes a section on Dr. King’s assassination and his enduring legacy.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

“Intersectional identity” refers to the various, sometimes conflicting, components that make up a person’s identity. Think of all the different parts of your identity that make you you. What are the parts of your identity that people might see as incongruous?

Teaching Suggestion: Considering the personalities of your students, assess if it makes more sense to have the students explore this Personal Connection Prompt in a private setting (as with a free-writing exercise) or in a public one (with a group discussion). Thinking more deeply about intersectionality will help students better understand the theme of Identity in Teenagers Who Straddle Different Social and Cultural Worlds, in addition to The Impact of Appearances on People’s Assumptions and Perceptions.

• This Psychology Today article further explains the concept of intersectional identity and makes the argument that “defining or being defined by only one aspect of identity can be harmful.”
• For classes that are energized by the concept of “intersectional identity,” you may consider going through PBS Learning Media’s 60-minute lesson entitled “Understanding Intersectionality Lesson Plan.”

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who learn more readily through information presented graphically, you may elect to show them the Diversity Wheel, which is a visual aid to help students understand the more permanent and visible aspects of our identity (age, sexual orientation/identity, ethnicity, race, gender, physical abilities/qualities), versus qualities that may change and morph over time (marital status, political ideology, education, parental status, religious beliefs, etc.).