Sinclair, April. (1996). Coffee Will Make You Black. New York: Harper Collins, 239pp.

Grade Range: 10-12

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Summary and Critique

In this compelling coming-of-age story, an African-American girl transforms from an innocent child to an educated young adult. Set in South Side Chicago from 1965 to 1970, Sinclair depicts the reality of being an African-American during the Civil Rights Movement. "Stevie" is raised by a conservative mother and an alcoholic father, and her parents will not explain puberty or sex to her; therefore, she must learn on her own. After being betrayed by some of her sexually liberated friends, she becomes close friends with Carla, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Carla and Stevie share many experiences, such as learning about sex, getting boyfriends, a pregnancy scare, peer pressure, and questioning sexuality. In the end, Stevie matures and realizes that no matter what she discovers about herself, she just hopes she will be strong.

This heartwarming novel is enlightening and enjoyable to read. However, because of the profanity and controversial issues such as sex, lesbianism, and racism, it is best suited for a mature audience.

Themes/Topics

Families

Friends and Enemies

Generations

Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

Challenges and Triumphs

War and Peace

The Individual vs. Society

Love, Sex, and Romance

Sports

Author Information

April Sinclair was a community activist before writing her first novel, Coffee Will Make you Black. Like many of her female protagonists, Sinclair grew up in South Side Chicago. After the success of her first novel, she wrote Ain't Gonna Be The Same Fool Twice in 1997 and most recently I Left My Back Door Open in 1999.

For more information on April Sinclair:

http://aalbc.com/authors/april1.htm Web site providing biographical information about April Sinclair and summaries of her three novels.

Media Connections

Movies/Documentaries

Eyes on the Prize II (1990) About the events of the African American communities efforts for equality from 1965 to contemporary times.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: A Historical Perspective (1994) Documentary on Martin Luther King Jr.

The Speeches of Martin Luther King (1995) Documentary on the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.

Malcolm X (1992) An autobiographical account of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist Leader.

Forbidden Love: The Unshamed Stories of Lesbian Lives (1992) Ten women talk about being lesbian in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

The Clansman (1974) An FBI member goes undercover in the Ku Klux Klan.

Women Who Rock (1986) Documentary including Aretha Franklin.

The Joy Luck Club (1993) based on Amy Tan's novel, the story of a young Asian-American woman trying to find herself.

Real Women Have Curves (2002) The story of a young Mexican-American woman discovering who she is and trying to get along with her overbearing mother.

Arab Diaries, Part 2: Youth (2001) Looks at the dilemmas of young women in three Arab countries.

Arab Diaries, Part 3: Love & Marriage (2001) Examines relationship issues in contemporary Middle Eastern countries.

Relationship Series: Boyfriend/Girlfriend (1996) Defines and discusses romantic relationships and their characteristics.

Television

Family Matters- any episode (family/friend relationships)

The Cosby Show- any episode (family/friend relationships)

Music/Audio Recordings

"Black or White." Lyrics by Michael Jackson. From Dangerous. Sony, 1991. (Jackson states that it does not matter if the girl is black or white as long as they are equal).

Online Resources

http://www.sexedcoalition.org/ The Sex Education Coalition Web site provides information on sexual education in contemporary America.

http://www.brothermalcolm.net/ A biographical website about the Black Nationalist Leader, Malcolm X.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/ Web site on Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement.

http://www.gwu.edu/~english/kaleidoscope/Essaypages2002/Essay7.htm Short stories about life in South Side Chicago.

http://www.genaustin.org/public/ The Girls Empowerment Network. Provides a variety of information for teenage girls as well as a forum for teenage girls to discuss various issues.

http://www.self-esteem-nase.org/ National Association for Self-Esteem. Provides information about self-esteem as well as activities and resources for building self-esteem

http://www.city-data.com/city/Chicago-Illinois.html Information about Chicago, Illinois

Related Texts

King, Martin Luther Jr. (2001). The Measure of a Man. Minneapolis, MN : Fortress Press, 55pp. This short autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. depicts his life before and during his political career and explores his philosophies of nonviolent activism. Coffee Will Make You Black alludes to Martin Luther King Jr., his death, and the civil rights movement.

Johnson, James Weldon. (1922). The Book of American Negro Poetry. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 217pp. This poetry anthology offers poems written entirely by African Americans. It relates to the novel because it is based solely on African American writers.

African American Literature Glencoe, 2002. This anthology provides an array of short stories written by African American authors.

Sinclair, April. (1996). Ain't Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice. New York: Hyperion, 324pp. This story is the continuation of Steve's story, which began in Coffee Will Make You Black. In this novel she is a recent college graduate living as a lesbian in the 1970's.

Sinclair, April. (1999). I Left My Back Door Open. New York: Hyperion, 290pp. This story also relates to living as a black woman. In this novel An overweight, bulimic woman in her forties believes that meeting the right man will improve her life drastically.

Monroe, Mary. (2000). God Don't Like Ugly. New York: Dafina, 340pp. A strong friendship helps a young African American girl cope with being abused by her caretaker. The primary characters in God Don't Like Ugly and Coffee… share similar situations.

X, Malcolm. (1965). The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Grove Press, 455pp. Malcolm X recounts the events of his life. Coffee… mentions this autobiography and Malcolm X several times.

Tan, Amy. (1989). The Joy Luck Club. New York: Putnam. 288pp. Explores the lives of four Chinese women and their relationships with their four Chinese-American daughters.

Cisneros, Sandra. (1983). House on Mango Street. Houston: Arte Publico Press. 103pp. Esperanza describes her life in a poor Latino neighborhood in Chicago.

Morrison, Lillian (Ed). (2001). More Spice Than Sugar: Poems about Feisty Females. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 80pp. A short anthology of poems about heroic, inspiring, and strong women.

Nicolson, Georgia. (2000). Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. New York: Harper Collins. 247pp. This comedic coming of age story depicts the life of a teenage girl maturing into an adult in contemporary England.

Pipher, Mary, Ph.D. (1994). Reviving Ophelia: Saving The Selves Of Adolescent Girls. New York: Putnam. 304pp. Pipher, a psychologist, examines important issues teenage girls experience and from which they often suffer, such as gender inequality, family relations, physical issues and appearance, and media's impact on adolescence.

Wittlinger, Ellen. (1999). Hard Love. New York: Simon & Schuster. 224pp. A depressed teenage boy befriends and later falls in love with a confused lesbian teenage writer.

Havelin, Kate. (2000). Dating: 'What Is a Healthy Relationship?' (Perspectives on Relationships). Mankato, Minn: Lifematters Press, 64 pp. Offers advice and insight on finding, developing, and maintaining a healthy romantic relationship.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "Character Mandala" Have students pick one character from the novel and consider which characteristics that character has and what happens to that character. Using a color symbolism chart, students should circle any characteristics that fit their character using at least three different colors. Give students a page with the mandala design on it and have the students write their characters name under it. They will fill in the mandala with the colors that represent their character. Once the mandalas are complete, the students must write a paragraph explaining their choice of colors and what it says about the character. You can get a sample mandala at: www.mandali.com/sample

[Summarized from "Character Mandala" by Fran Bullington in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, Volume 21, Number 3, pp. 6-7.]

(2) "Getting to know a Fictional Character" Before beginning the novel, have them write down questions about their character. Some questions might be: Is your character male or female, or how old is your character? Once the students have written down these questions, they can begin reading. You tell them that they must take this character anywhere they go, whether it is to a friend's house, to the mall, whatever. They must then write a journal of that character's reactions to the things you do, approximately 100 words per day.

[Summarized from "Getting to know a Fictional Character" by Susan Altland in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, Volume 19, Number 4, pp 5.]

(3) "The Six Second Assignment" In a minimum of one page, students should describe an event that lasted no longer than six seconds. The event could be an important event or a minor event, such as getting tackled in a football game or the moment before a kiss. Emphasize that they are to describe only those six seconds, not the whole day or the whole event. [Summarized from " The Six Second Assignment" by Jennifer Smith in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, Volume 20, Number 2, pp.10-11.]

(Review written by Jaime LeRoy and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)