Homegoing

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. What do you know about the shared history of Enslavement and Freedom in West Africa and the United States? Where do you see the legacy of the slave trade today, both on the African continent and in the United States?

Teaching Suggestion: Many American readers may be aware of the centuries-long slave trade in the United States and its lasting legacy in American culture, and particularly in African-American lives; however, much of the trauma passed between generations may come as a surprise to readers. Even less familiar to readers may be the legacy of slavery on the African continent. Getting students to think through their preconceptions about slavery, African culture, and the civil rights movement in the United States will help them navigate the experiences of Maame’s descendants.

• “A Slow Emancipation” by Kwame Anthony Appiah. In this article, a prominent philosopher and cultural theorist reflects on the enduring history of slavery in Africa and how forms of enslavement continue to exist today in the modern world.
• “400 Years Since Slavery: A Timeline of American History” by Khushbu Shah and Juweek Adolphe. Published in The Guardian, this article gives an overview of the timeline of slavery in the United States through modern day political movements that contend with the legacy of slavery in America.

2. What are ways in which joyful traditions and painful traumas are passed from generation to generation within a family? What are the challenges to self-identity one faces when dealing with a generational trauma or Family Legacy?

Teaching Suggestion: The traumas, joys, losses, and gaps experienced by each branch of the family in Homegoing resonate for generations and are eventually healed through the friendship of Marcus and Marjorie. Getting students to think about the way families carry trauma and loss for generations, how these legacies shape identity, and how one might free themselves of passed-down burdens will help students process the pivotal choices characters make in each chapter.

• “Breaking the Chains of Generational Trauma” by Elizabeth Dixon. In this article, Dixon gives an overview of the biological and psychological effects of transgenerational trauma.
• “Family Trees Fill in the Gaps for Black People Seeking their Ancestral Roots” by Curtis Bunn. This article explores how many African Americans have gaps in their family history, whether due to the purposeful separation of family during slavery or the lasting traumas of slavery, and how discovering that history can affect the individual sense of identity.