Anger Is a Gift

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. According to the Pew Research Center, about half of Americans (52%) say that racism in United States law and policy is a bigger problem for Black people than interpersonal racism. How would you define the term “institutional racism”? What is the difference between “institutional racism” and other forms of racism?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt will provide students with a shared working definition of Institutional Racism, one of the core themes of Anger Is a Gift, as they read the novel. Students will most likely have some understanding of the concept; however, contrasting “institutional” with “interpersonal” racism will give students an even clearer picture of what it is.

• Time’s “The Many Ways Institutional Racism Kills Black People” from 2020 contextualizes systemic racism in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd.
• PBS’s “Annual Report Shows Systemic Racism Continues to Bring Down Black People’s Quality of Life” is a discussion on the National Urban League’s annual report on the state of Black America, which showed that Black Americans have slipped further behind white Americans in terms of education, social justice, and civic engagement.

Differentiation Suggestion: For a more visual approach to the discussion of institutional racism, it may be helpful to review The Race & Social Justice Initiative’s infographic entitled “The 4 Types of Racism,” alongside Business Insider’s “25 Simple Charts to Show Friends and Family Who Aren’t Convinced Racism Is Still a Problem in America.”

2. George Floyd’s murder in 2020 was the catalyst for numerous protests across the United States against racial discrimination and unjust policing practices. What was the incident with George Floyd? How did this tragic incident fit into a longer American history of police brutality?

Teaching Suggestion: Published in 2018, Anger Is a Gift was written prior to George Floyd’s murder, but still in the midst of the rapidly growing Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter was formed in 2013 in response to another incident of police brutality: the murder of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black teenager in Florida. From the start, one of the primary goals of the Black Lives Matter movement has been to eradicate Police Brutality against Black people and other people of color, which has a long history in the United States. George Floyd was a Black man who, in May 2020, was murdered by police officers in Minnesota after a store clerk accused Floyd of using a counterfeit $20 bill. The incident was an egregious use of excessive force by police officers, and as such, Floyd’s murder became the instigating event that ignited another wave of Black Lives Matter protests across America.

• The Marshall Project’s “How Policing Has—and Hasn’t—Changed Since George Floyd” looks at the various reforms made to police departments at the state and local level since 2020.
• The Brennan Center for Justice’s “State Policing Reforms Since George Floyd’s Murder” looks specifically at statewide legislative policing reforms.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Anger is generally thought of as a negative emotion, but it also can be a motivating force for change. When was the last time you felt angry and it had a detrimental effect on your health and well-being? Compare that experience to a time when your anger brought about a positive change in your life.

Teaching Suggestion: As the title of the book suggests, anger is not merely a destructive force for harm; it can also be a “gift” (Chapter 14). This prompt connects to the theme of Anger and will have students explore and compare the role of anger in their own lives. You may want to offer examples of destructive anger versus constructive anger. In terms of destructive anger, an example might be when anger, whether justified or not, may have clouded their judgment and caused them to hastily make a poor decision. As a constructive force, a potential example could be a student whose righteous anger after witnessing another student being bullied gave them the courage to stand up to the bully. As portrayed throughout the book, anger is constructive when used as a motivating force to help usher in positive change and/or transition.

• PsychCentral’s “How to Channel Your Anger Into Productive Action” is a guide on how to transform your rage into a positive force.
• Psychology Today’s “Go Forth in Anger” looks at the psychological importance of anger as a motivating force.