Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

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 are 4-5 historical events that likely contributed to racial tensions in America today? What difficulties might arise when individuals or groups try to talk about the impact of racism on people of color? What communication strategies might be beneficial in talking about these issues?

Teaching Suggestion: Students may have direct experiences with discrimination and thus may find this subject matter difficult to discuss. It might be helpful to introduce the premise of Mira Jacob’s Good Talk by highlighting that it is a real-life account of a brown woman’s experiences with racism in America and her hopes for the future in which her son will grow up. Mira lives in Brooklyn, New York and has been the victim of both covert and overt racism. In the memoir, these experiences shape who she becomes, her self-image, the way she parents her son, and the way she views her country. This question connects to the memoir’s theme Racism in America and Its Effects on People of Color.

• FBI-sourced statistics on bias motivation for hate crimes in the United States
• A short guide highlighting strategies for discussing race, including both effective and ineffective means for creating understanding between people who disagree

Short Activity

Sam Cooke wrote the song A Change Is Gonna Come in 1964 in response to the racial segregation he and his friends experienced in Louisiana. Listen to the song and write a response in the style of a journal entry or opinion piece discussing whether this song is still relevant today.

Teaching Suggestion: From the 1880s to the 1960s in America, many southern states enacted “Jim Crow” laws, which segregated white and Black Americans. Sam Cooke lived through this time and wrote this song after one particularly significant experience in which he and his friends were not allowed to stay in a motel in Louisiana because it was only for white people. From this activity, students can relate experiences of systemic racism in America today to those of the past and discuss any patterns they observe in these ever-present issues. This activity connects to the memoir’s theme The Effects of the Past on the Present.

• This lyric video for the song “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke (1964) includes photographic images representing the civil rights movement and other historical markers of change (may include sensitive content).
• This website outlines the racial segregation laws that existed from the 1880s-1960s, organized by state.

Differentiation Suggestion: Advanced learners might find another song about racism in America from 2015 or later to compare with “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Students might examine the similarities and differences in the issues discussed and the ways in which each song communicates those issues, noting their observations in a table or Venn diagram.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Have you personally had any experiences with racial discrimination? How did those experiences affect you and your outlook? Alternatively, can you think of a movie or novel that details experiences with racism? How did your chosen media handle the issue of racism in America?

Teaching Suggestion: Many students will have experiences with racial discrimination, whether it be in the form of exclusion, bullying, violence, or otherwise. Discussing personal experiences with racism may be difficult for some students, so they may choose to answer only the second half of the prompt. By connecting their own experiences to the ones had by the author of Good Talk, students will be able to empathize and relate with the author.

• A Pew Research Center article on Americans’ personal experiences with racial discrimination, categorized by ethnicity

Differentiation Suggestion: Instead of composing a written response to this prompt, visual learners or English language learners might paint or draw an image based on an experience with racial discrimination, then add a title, brief captions, and/or a summary statement.