No Easy Walk to Freedom

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 do you know about apartheid in South Africa during the mid-20th century? What were some apartheid laws and what were their effects on various sectors of the South African population?

Teaching Suggestion: If your students are unfamiliar with apartheid, you might direct them to the links below or guide preliminary research on the topic before discussing the question.

• This article on apartheid includes a definition and a brief description of apartheid history and policy.
• “A History of Apartheid in South Africa” includes a discussion of apartheid laws, resistance efforts prior to 1960, and a brief history of the ANC and their phases of political mobilization. The information on the ANC may help students begin thinking about Shifts in Strategies and Tactics.

2. Who was Nelson Mandela, and why is he considered an international social justice icon?

Teaching Suggestion: Students may be more familiar with Mandela’s incarceration and eventual tenure as president than with the earlier activism that resulted in his imprisonment. For that reason, it might be helpful to allow time for initial investigation prior to students answering the question.

• This biography from the Nelson Mandela Foundation provides an overview of his life and his political activities.
• This Nobel Prize biography links to a series of FAQs that may help students quickly gain an understanding of who Mandela was. 

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Many contemporary social justice movements have gained widespread attention and support through social media and mass protests. What social justice issues are you aware of, and are there any movements that you feel yourself drawn to support? What strategies and tactics do you see these movements using, and do you find those strategies effective or ineffective? Explain why.

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt is designed to help students begin thinking about contemporary examples of resistance movements and the important role that Mass Mobilization and Unity play in those struggles. It also helps students begin thinking about the ways that resistance struggles introduce Shifts in Strategies and Tactics in response to concrete conditions and developments. If students are unable to identify a social justice movement or uncomfortable discussing their own relationships to a movement, you might bring their attention to some with which you are familiar and ask them to do research prior to answering the questions.