Dear Martin

Part 1, Chapters 1-4

1. His ex-girlfriend, Melo (Chapter 1)

2. To stay calm and respectful (Chapter 1)

3. Shemar Carson (“August 25”)

4. Because the video game is too violent (Chapter 2)

5. Manny’s cousin (Chapter 3)

Short-Answer Response

1. He is arrested by the police for the murder of a police officer. (Chapter 3)

2. He issues this caution because the topic of debate is if society has reached full equality with regard to race, when it is clear to Justyce that they have not. (Chapter 3)

3. Manny laughs along and/or silently agrees when Jared and other white classmates voice the opinion that Dr. King’s dream has been achieved. (Chapter 4)

Part 1, “September 18” - Chapter 7

Reading Check

1. No rights (“September 18”)

2. Racial stereotypes (Chapter 5)

3. Surfer Dude and Redneck (Chapter 5)

4. A race traitor (“November 1”)

5. Yale (Chapter 6)

Short-Answer Response

1. She has little sympathy and tells him that people who “make history” aren’t supposed to fit in. (“September 18”)

2. They share a moment of understanding because Trey accuses them both of staying connected to white people in order to secure a “ride to the top.” (Chapter 5)

3. His motivation for making this suggestion is that, despite his impressive credentials, he was deferred at Yale. He thinks affirmative action “discriminates against members of the majority” and says the only reason Justyce got into Yale was because they needed to fill a quota. (Chapter 7)

Part 1, “December 13” - Chapter 10

Reading Check

1. He says this because of his mother’s reaction. (Chapter 8)

2. He suggests that they argue about “The Myth of the Superpredator.” (Chapter 9)

3. They are clinging to one another. (Chapter 9)

4. He says he is having trouble eating, sleeping, and focusing because his crush on SJ is intensifying. (“January 13”)

5. She starts looking for Doc. (“January 13”)

Short-Answer Response

1. Jared tries to shove him down so he won’t be on their level; Trey tries to pull him down so that he isn’t able to succeed or advance in life. (“December 13”)

2. He is worried because he’ll be going from an all-white environment to an all-Black one. (Chapter 8)

3. He calls Manny a “sellout” because Manny holds Justyce back from fighting Blake. Justyce is furious at Blake because he tries to get Justyce and Manny to help in sexually exploiting a Black girl at the party and also uses the n-word freely. (Chapter 10)

Part 1, “January 19” - Chapter 14

Reading Check

1. Threat; human (Chapter “January 19”)

2. Gatorade (Chapter 11)

3. PTSD and alcoholism (Chapter 11)

4. A busted lip and a wrapped hand (Chapter 12)

5. Gun shots are fired. (Chapter 14)

Short-Answer Response

1. He doesn’t feel bad because he doesn’t understand why he has to be pleasant when Blake and his crew continue to be offensive. (“January 19”)

2. Doc explains that he also grew up like Manny and attended an all-white high school. He points out that when you’re accepted by white people, it is easier for Black kids like Manny to ignore history and hard to face certain problematic truths. (Chapter 11)

3. A white man driving a Suburban alongside Manny and Justyce angrily rides next to them and yells at them to turn their music down. (Chapter 13)

Part 2, “Transcript from evening news, January 25” - “VP Released for Rabble-Rousing”

Reading Check

1. Garrett Tison (“Transcript from evening news, January 26”)

2. That Manny is dead (“February 1”)

3. Justyce’s mom (Chapter 15)

4. Manny’s cousin Quan (Chapter 16)

5. Existence (Chapter 17)

Short-Answer Response

1. He partially blames them because, had they not pressed charges, Manny would have gone hiking as planned. (Chapter 15)

2. They decide to indict Garrett Tison on multiple counts. Their decision runs counter to the cases of Shemar Carson and Tavarrius Jenkins, where their killers were allowed to go free with limited punishments. (“Tison Indictment Step Forward for Justice or Grand Jury Blunder?”)

3. It shows how the media can control the narrative with a single image, and that narrative is not always truthful. It shows how the media can be easily manipulated against young Black men. (Chapter 18)

Part 2, Chapter 19 - “Four Months Later”

Reading Check

1. The 87 bus (Chapter 19)

2. Calculus (Chapter 20)

3. It was set on fire. (Chapter “Transcript from nightly news, May 21”)

4. That Justyce is dating a white girl (Chapter 21)

5. The DA (Chapter 22)

Short-Answer Response

1. It’s ironic that he is going back to visit a place and a group of people he has spent his whole life trying to escape. (Chapter 19)

2. He thanks him because Dr. King’s actions were partly responsible for Justyce’s opportunity to attend a university like Yale. He’s deeply thankful for the opportunity, even though he feels out of place. (“August 25”)

3. Standing at Manny’s grave, Jared reveals that he is going to pursue civil rights law, despite his father’s disapproval. This signifies that Jared has changed his beliefs about civil rights issues concerning Black people after Manny’s untimely death. (“Four Months Later”)