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<p class="MsoNormal">Our March book is Stamped.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It will make us all think and should help us have some great discussion.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I believe Christine is the discussion leader.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We will meet at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, March 3 by Zoom. I should have the Zoom information tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Below are a series of questions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">STAMPED <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Discussion Questions<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Reynolds tells the reader this book is “NOT a history book. This is a book about here and now. A book to help us better understand why we are where we<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">are. A book about race.” Daksha Slater, a New York Times Bestselling young adult author, said “reading this compelling not-a-history book is like finding<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a field guide to American racism, allowing you to quickly identify racist ideas when you encounter them in the wild.” Moreover, Stamped equips readers<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">with vocabulary like “segregationist”, “assimilationist”, and “anti-racist” in accessible language for young readers. It equips them with examples of each<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and an understanding of how these labels are fluid. This book will allow students, teachers, and the Marist community at large to have a common language<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and a guide we can use to make progress and dialogue moving forward as we combat racial injustice together.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For black audiences, it is likely that some of the ideas presented in this book will not be new or shocking. Through this book, we hope to shine a light<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">on some history that is often overlooked in the typical American classroom. For white audiences who are often used to being at the center of the narrative,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">this book may be uncomfortable at times; however, as adults, it is imperative that we show our children it is not only okay but encouraged to step outside<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">of our comfort zones in order to grow. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because the book’s accessible language and conversational tone can seem offhanded to some, we encourage readers to engage with the source notes at the<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">end of the book and the Marist Library Pathfinder resources. Moreover, we have provided students journal reflection prompts that could also make for good<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">at-home discussion. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SECTION I: 1415 - 1728 (Chapters 1-4)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1. Using your own words, define the terms segregationist, assimilationist, and antiracist. Were you familiar with these terms before you started<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">reading Stamped?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">2. Why do words such as “race” and “privilege” seem to require, as Reynolds suggests in Chapter 3, a “breath break”?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SECTION II: 1743 - 1826 (Chapters 5 - 10)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">3. Write about how you’ve come to develop understandings about race. Consider the messages you’ve learned about race from the media, family, community,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">school, and peers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">4. Consider any examples of racism that you’ve experienced or witnessed. Referencing the list of racist ideas in Chapter 6, explain why and how your personal<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">experiences with racism are tied to racist ideas that are hundreds of years old.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SECTION III: 1826 - 1879 (Chapters 11 - 14)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">5. At the beginning of Stamped and in this section, Reynolds asserts, “Life rarely fits neatly into a box. People are complicated and selfish and<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">contradictory.” Describe two or three of the complicated figures mentioned in Stamped. What makes them complex?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">6. Reynolds uses the following simile to describe racism: “Freedom in America was like quicksand. It looked solid until a Black person tried to stand<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">on it. Then it became clear, it was a sinkhole” (p. 108). He also uses the following metaphors and descriptors: “racist roadblocks,” “racist loopholes,”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and “potholes”(p. 110). Choose one of these comparisons or descriptors and explain what you think he means.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SECTION IV: 1868 - 1963 (Chapters 15 - 20)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">7. W.E.B Du Bois and Booker T. Washington had distinct strategies and approaches to Black liberation. Describe a few characteristics of each of their<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">approaches. How were they different? Which do you align with more and why?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">8. Reynolds discusses The Souls of Black Folk by Du Bois, and Du Bois’s concept of double consciousness: “A two-ness. A self that is Black and a<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">self that is American” (p. 124). Why might people of color feel this way? Do you ever feel as if your identity is divided in some way? Write about your<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">own personal experience with a “two-ness.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">9. As seen with movies like Tarzan, Planet of the Apes, and Rocky, pop culture and media have played a large role in reinforcing racist ideas, whether<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">their stories are overtly racist or are a bit sneakier in their propagation of racist ideas. What current movies, TV shows, and stories promote racist<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ideas, and how?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">10. Reynolds demonstrates how racist ideas in the fields of science and mathematics—from eugenics to the creation and purposes of IQ and standardized<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">tests—have been created and used to oppress Black and Brown people. Which of the theories he puts forward were shocking to you? Why?
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">11. Stamped traces Du Bois’s complicated stance on race and racism. List examples of things in your life that fit into each of these categories: assimilationist,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">segregationist, or antiracist. Is it possible to be all three in the span of a day? Why or why not?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SECTION V: 1963 - TODAY (Chapters 21 - 28)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">12. How was the emergence of hip-hop music a force for “driving change and empowerment” (p. 211)? In what ways does “Fight the Power” offer a powerful<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">critique of mainstream America that is still relevant today? Who or what is the power?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">13. Racism is so embedded in our lives that even everyday expressions that might seem harmless are in fact examples of the power of language and the<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ways words and phrases associate blackness with negativity. Examples include words and phrases such as black sheep, blackballing, blackmail, blacklisting,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">black mark, and blackout. What are some examples of other such terms given in the book that are used to describe race without ever saying “Black people”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">or “White people”? Did you ever realize until now that these phrases carry racial undertones? Why or why not?
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">14. In this section, the authors discuss the legacy of coded racial policies such as the Southern Strategy, the War on Drugs, and the Violent Crime<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Control and Law Enforcement Act that devastated Black communities and the ways this continues today. How do policies that disproportionately affect one<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">group of people prevent America from having a truly free and fair society?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">15. In Stamped, Reynolds exposes and debunks the myths of several master narrative themes such as: America is a meritocracy, meaning anyone who works<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">hard enough can succeed; truth and justice (or law and order) should be valued; people should be colorblind. In what ways is a color blindness approach<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">toward race not only disingenuous but dangerous?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">16. What surprised you in this book? What angered you or made you sad? What are two or three questions that came up for you while reading?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">17. After finishing Stamped, how do you feel about the history of racism? What habits and actions can you implement to promote antiracism?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These discussion questions were adapted from resources provided by the publisher.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Educator's Guide<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Book Club Guide<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">main region end<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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