Piecing Me Together

These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the novel.

Pre-Reading “Icebreaker”

A primary theme in Piecing Me Together is how racism in the United States deeply shapes the Coming-of-Age Experience for Black Girls and young women. Because art is so important to Jade, the protagonist of the story, and to help gain a deeper understanding of the Black experience, one entry point into the text is poetry. Read the poem “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton, as well as the analysis by Safiya Sinclair from “12 Poems to Read for Black History Month” on Poets.org.

• In the Bible, the ancient city of Babylon is seen as a godless city. What does the speaker of the poem mean when she says she was “born in babylon”? Does that speak to the ways Black girls are perceived? Perceived by whom?
• In her analysis of the poem, Safiya Sinclair writes that “To be a black woman alive in America and writing poetry is miraculous.” What does she mean by this?

Teaching Suggestion: Use this prompt to continue the discussion on the theme of Intersectionality and emphasize that one of Renée Watson’s goals with the text is to help bring to life and to make known the distinct experience of being a Black girl in the United States. Pointing out that both Lucille Clifton and Safiya Sinclair are both Black women themselves, explain to students the importance of hearing first-hand accounts of the Black woman’s experience directly from Black women, rather than from an outsider. You may also want to have the students listen to Renée Watson performing her poem “Where You From?,” which was how she introduced herself at a 2019 International Literacy Association conference in New Orleans.

Personal Response Prompt

The fictional group Woman to Woman is a well-meaning but flawed mentorship program. The mission of the organization is to uplift and empower disadvantaged Black girl students. In practice, however, the mentorship of the group—particularly with Jade’s mentor Maxine—comes off as condescending and completely misses the mark.

• Can you think of a time when someone acted with good intentions, but completely missed the mark? Draw from personal experience or from a situation that you witnessed with someone else.
• Think about the aphorism “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” by British philosopher Alan Watts. Unpack the meaning of this saying, in terms of Jade’s experiences. Feel free to draw on your own experience, as well.

Teaching Suggestion: If students are reluctant to open up about their own experiences, be ready with several examples of good intentions gone awry from popular culture, such as: (1) the 2017 Pepsi ad with Kendall Jenner called “Live for Now,” which was widely lambasted for capitalizing on the Black Lives Matter movement, (2) Balloonfest ’86 in Cleveland, where a fundraising publicity stunt had catastrophic consequences, and/or (3) the Gal Gadot “Imagine” Instagram video during COVID-19, which was regarding as an insensitive response by celebrities to real-world suffering. Relate discussion to the theme of The Nature of Authentic Mentorship.

• Alan Watts actually said his famous phrase “The road to hell . . . “ as a critique of colonialism, which is closely tied to racism and racist ideology. Listen to Alan Watts’ lecture in which he first said it, illustrated with a playful cartoon on the YouTube channel After Skool.  

Post-Reading Analysis

To further deepen our understanding of intersectionality, think of all the characters in Piecing Me Together with shared aspects of their identities. For example, Jade, her mother, and Maxine are all Black and they are all women. What are the ways in which Jade, her mother, and Maxine are all different? Despite having these shared characteristics, are there other qualities found in Jade, her mother, and/or Maxine that might privilege one over the other? How about qualities that might disadvantage them?

Teaching Suggestion: Emphasize to students through this continued discussion of Intersectionality and Complex, Fragmented Identities that there is no single Black experience. Age, socioeconomic status, body size, ability/disability, and many other qualities can shape someone’s experiences. If time allows, have the students watch “The Urgency of Intersectionality,” a TED Talk by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American civil rights advocate and professor at the UCLA School of Law and Columbia School of Law, who first coined the term “intersectionality” in 1989.