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.