1.
If the Bureau had not taken the action that they took in 1919, how might the current state of black America be different?
2.
If Du Bois and Garvey had had a different relationship, how might their outcomes have been different?
3.
If Loretta had been politically curious and aware, how could she have changed the course of the story?
4.
Was the risk worth the reward for Sidney?
5.
Is there hypocrisy in considering Sidney a sell-out while white agents are not thought of as traitors to their race?
6.
Why is being a black agent in the story about race but being a white agent is not?
7.
Considering what happened in the story, would James have forgiven Sidney if he'd learned the truth?
8.
Why was it necessary, at least in Hoover's mind, to hire black agents?
9.
What historical facts fed the Bureau's paranoia regarding communism?
10.
Give two possible reasons that Hoover would think Garvey and Du Bois were like-minded on communism.
11.
Which of the following do you think are factual, fictionalized, or both?
⢠The Harlem setting
⢠Young J. Edgar Hoover's role in the fledgling Bureau
⢠The Bureau agents in the story
⢠Du Bois's and Garvey's roles in U.S. and world history
⢠The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill
⢠James Eason's trip to New Orleans
⢠President Warren G. Harding's stance on racial issues
12.
Name some historical black Americans who emigrated to Paris.
13.
Why might Garvey have been enthralled by pomp and ceremony?
14.
Discuss Du Bois's philosophy of the Talented Tenth.