Between the World and Me Lesson Plan

How does the poem by Amiri Baraka at the beginning of Part II connect the first and second parts of the book?

In discussing this question in class, make sure students have carefully read the poem at the beginning of Part II (as some students may have skipped over reading it). Before delving into how this poem connects the first two parts of the book, make sure to have students discuss the meaning of the poem itself. In this poem, Amiri Baraka's writes that "our world" -- the world of black people -- is "more lovely than anyone's," despite the fact that there is suffering, killing, and failure. The tension Baraka identifies is between the "beautiful people/with african...