1 “Doesn’t everyone have the right to be Happy?”

2 So Much for Happy A Teaching Guide

3

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Cast of Characters Glossary Chapter 1About the Authors

5 INTRODUCTION Set in urban America in the year 2020, So Much for Happy, , by E.P. McGill and David Tabatsky, tells the story of 12-year-old Christopher Michael and his family. They live in a place called UnHappy, where struggling Red and Blue people are segregated from their White neighbors, who thrive on the other side of an imaginary wall in a world called Happy. But regardless of color, class, gender or age, everyone longs to live in a place called Hope. So Much for Happy was to capture the imaginations of young readers, teaching them to see what truly divides us and what it ultimately takes to find our true colors. As our nation continues to struggle with the daunting challenges of racial bias, class discrimination and systemic persecution, So Much for Happy asks us to examine the roots of these conflicts, and to explore how future generations can live more peacefully together in a progressive society.

6 Consider it a cautionary tale, a challenge to our imaginations and a call to action: one person, one family and one block at a time. This teaching guide offers a variety of ways to discuss the issues in this book with the children you care about. Whether you are a teacher, parent or anyone working to support and educate children, this guide will help you to delve into the themes of the story. Chapter by chapter, we provide a comprehensive and engaging examination of the book, including: a capsule description of the action, plot and characters in a section titled “What’s Happening Here?” We also offer topics of discussion to consider, including thought-provoking questions in a section called “10 Talking Points.” Additionally, we propose a short list of “Suggested Activities” as well as “A Call to Action,” both of which address what students, families and communities can do to educate schools and neighbors, while taking responsibility and initiative for affecting change in our society.

7 Christopher Michael (CM)CAST OF CHARACTERS REDS Christopher Michael (CM) Huey Lewis James Jason Troy Rosa Douglas (CM’s mother) Bobby Jones (CM’s father) Grandpa/Pops (CM’s grandfather) WHITES Alex Koke Henry Koke Kris Koke Karl Koke Dr. Cox BLUES Mrs. Trapp Mrs. McNeal School Guards Nurses Jackie, Peggy, Angela, Elizabeth and Ethel Dr. Alim

8 GLOSSARY Black Panther Underground book dealer / Former activistHappy A place for privileged and/or wealthy Whites Hope To be determined Kamp Juvenile detention center KokeBrain Think tank sponsored by Koke brothers KokeHead Someone addicted to junk food & bad ideas Player Derogatory term for a Blue person Puppeteer Someone who manipulates people Rojo Derogatory term for a Red person ROTC Reconstructive Occupational Therapy Center Triple K Derogatory term for a White person UnHappy A place for Reds and Blues

9 CHAPTER ONE

10 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? It’s Monday morning in a place called UnHappy, and at the Kris and Karl Koke Elementary Training Center, Christopher Michael and his 6th grade classmates are preparing for their “Moving Up” graduation ceremony, scheduled for this Friday. But there’s one problem. Christopher Michael, also known as CM, must hide the book he is reading from the school guards because Red kids in UnHappy are not allowed to read. Faced with the prospect of doing something drastic to avoid serious trouble, CM can only Hope his solution will work.

11 10 TALKING POINTS 1. Mrs. Trapp has 47 students in her classroom.Q: How does that affect learning? 2. Public School #1 was changed to the Kris and Karl Koke Elementary Training Center. Q: Why do you think the name was changed? 3. Big Brother From Another Mother and other books are forbidden in CM’s school. Q: Why would anyone ban a book? 4. “I pledge allegiance to the flag.” Each morning, Red children and Blue teachers pledge their allegiance to the flag of the United States of Corporate America. Q: Do they really mean it, and if so, how have they come to believe in those words? 5. The gigantic flag in CM’s classroom is red, white and blue. It has no stars, only stripes, but they look more like the bars of a prison cell than the rainbow image of a free country. Q: Is America the land of the free and the home of the brave—for everyone?

12 6. In 2020, there are three territories remaining in America: Happy, UnHappy and Hope.Q: What do they represent? 7. Curiosity used to be a desirable trait in young people, but in 2020 it can be dangerous. Q: What are you curious about––and why? 8. In the world of so much for Happy, White people want to keep Red and Blue people in order. Q: Should people control each other? Does it happen in your life––and if so, how? 9. When UnHappy children reach sixth grade they donate blood that will be brought to the local hospital to be used for other kids who get knifed or shot that week. Q: What do you think about this? 10. Hope is everything CM has right now to hold on to. Q: What Hopes are you holding on to?

13 Books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Invisible Man and Native Son all have one thing in common: they have all been banned because schools, parents and/or politicians found them to be too controversial and threatening to the status quo. In so much for Happy, Whites created the New American Solution, which bans reading books because allowing children to learn the facts and deeper meaning of history would be a risky proposition.

14 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Pretend you are in charge of your school and you have the power to ban books. Which ones would you choose (if any) and why? What would the punishment be if a student were caught? 2. Write a Pledge of Allegiance that feels right to you and read it aloud in front of the class. 3. Create your own set of multiple choice questions and answers based upon what’s happening in Chapter 1. For example: People in power ban books because: A. They’re too long; B. They use bad words; C. They’re afraid of ideas; D. None of the above.

15 A CALL TO ACTION 1. If there are too many children in your class, see how you might instigate a change. 2. Find out what books are being banned in American schools right now. 3. Design a flag that you feel represents the America you live in.

16 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY What is your favorite book and where would you like to read it?

17 CHAPTER TWO

18 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? As Christopher Michael runs out of school, Alex Koke and his older brother, Henry, are watching from the enormous window of their Happy penthouse, which provides a bird’s-eye view of UnHappy. The KKK Elementary Training Center is named after Alex’s father and uncle, two of the richest, most powerful men in America. Since he has never met a Red kid face to face, Alex wonders what it would be like. Henry thinks Alex needs more medication. CM is simply running, trying to figure out where he should go next. Where is it safe?

19 10 TALKING POINTS 1. Alex has never met a Red kid.Q: How is that even possible? 2. Henry tells Alex that he’s asking all the wrong questions about CM and Red kids. Q: What do you think he means, and what questions would be more useful? 3. “If you have enough money, you own God, ” says Henry, explaining to Alex that Whites have supreme power over Red and Blue people. Q: Should anyone have power over another human being like that? 4. According to many Whites in UnHappy, insuring order in the world means maintaining a social structure with rich Whites at the top, Blues in the shrinking middle, and Reds at the bottom, no matter how tough it might get for them sometimes. Q: Do you think this is the only way society can work, and if not, how would you like to see it? 5. Red people exist to serve Whites. But at the same time, Whites provide Reds with a purpose in life and the dream of becoming Happy. Q: Is this what America is all about, and if not, how is it supposed to work?

20 6. White people in Happy believe in money more than anything else.Q: What do you believe in most of all? 7. Greed can’t be limited to White people. Wanting more seems to be human nature. Q: What are you greedy about––and why? 8. In the world of so much for Happy, White people are spying on Red and Blue people. Q: Why are they spying, and do you think spying is okay? 9. Henry thinks that Whites are meant to dominate other people and that those people want to be dominated, just like slaves wanted to serve their masters. It’s convenient for everyone. Q: Do you think anyone in the history of the world ever wanted to be dominated and be a slave? 10. Alex knows that Whites and Reds and Blues all have two legs and two arms, and wonders how they can be all that different. Q: How different are we, anyway, and is it just convenient to see people differently, or are we all the same?

21 The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is the oldest and most infamous American hate group, formed in the South in Although black Americans have typically been its primary target, the Klan also has attacked Jews, immigrants, and gays and lesbians. It sees itself as a Christian organization, although in modern times Klan groups have been motivated by a variety of theological and political ideologies, promoting white supremacy and “civil rights for whites.” While membership once numbered in the millions, the Southern Poverty Law Center estimates that the KKK now includes between 5,000 to 8,000 members.

22 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Pretend you are rich and White and living in Happy and in charge of all those living in UnHappy. How would you run things? What kind of society would you create? 2. Write a Bill of Rights that you would like to see enforced by the year 2020. 3. Create your own set of multiple choice questions and answers based upon what’s happening in Chapter 2. For example: Hating people is good because: A. It makes me feel special; B. It saves me from the trouble of actually getting to know somebody; C. It’s a popular thing to do and I want to fit in; D. None of the above.

23 A CALL TO ACTION 1. If there is someone in your class you do not know, make an effort to change that. 2. Find out what the KKK might be doing in the area where you live. 3. Take a survey to find out what people hate the most.

24 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY If you found out someone you know was being bullied by haters, what would you do?

25 CHAPTER THREE

26 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? Christopher Michael’s survival skills get him safely out of school with his book, but his troubles are just beginning. He’s about to be subjected to some mysterious, unexplained medical testing! But before that, he runs home as fast as he can, up nine flights of stairs, and into his apartment, where he breathlessly explains to his father and grandfather what’s going on at school. While they sympathize with his situation, they make CM return because they know that the consequences of staying absent will far outweigh the crime of running away.

27 10 TALKING POINTS 1. Like many other boys in UnHappy, CM is often confronted by older, bigger and stronger kids who seem to enjoy beating up on younger children. Q: If bigger boys are beating you up, what can you do to stop it? Teenagers in neighborhoods like UnHappy prefer to use younger boys like CM to do their errands and make deliveries. Q: If a boy knows that those errand and deliveries involve breaking the law, what should they do? 3. The elevator in Christopher Michael’s building has not been operating properly for years. Q: What can people do when landlords don’t take care of their building and provide basic services? 4. In Christopher Michael’s building, water is only turned on during certain hours. Q: Have you ever had to go without water or heat or a working elevator, and if so, how do you cope? 5. CM is afraid that if he is caught with a book he will be sent to Kamp like his brother, Huey. Q: Have you ever been afraid that you could get sent away for doing something wrong?

28 6. Mrs. McNeal says that all the sixth graders have to be tested before graduating.Q: What kind of medical test––if any––seems appropriate for this? 7. Mrs. Trapp was reading a book called How to Detect Subversive Adolescents. Q: What does “subversive” mean? 8. The letter from school has the insignia “In Koke We Trust.” Q: Does that sound familiar, and what does it mean? 9. CM’s grandfather says that White people know how to convince Reds that their lives are okay, despite the fact that “they aren’t exactly fit for rodents, let alone people.” Q: Why are some people so good at manipulating others, and do those people let themselves be manipulated? 10. Perception is always a challenge, no matter how old we are. This applies to how people see us and the way in which we want to be seen. Q: Do people see you as you would like to be seen, and if not, why?

29 According to data from the U. SAccording to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), hundreds of landlords across the country have been fined and/or prohibited from doing business with the federal government as a result of failing to provide safe and decent housing for the poor, while enriching themselves on taxpayer-funded subsidies. Tenants have been forced to live in terrible housing, and neighborhoods have suffered from these eyesores. HUD calls this a crime against both tenants and taxpayers. In the city of Philadelphia, the Fair Housing Commission enforces laws that address unsafe and unhealthy conditions in rental properties.

30 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Google “Black Panthers” and after you do some reading, write down five talking points to discuss in school with your classmates and teachers and/or at home with your family. 2. Take a survey of people in your apartment building, asking them if the landlord is doing a good job, and if not, how they think things could be improved. 3. See how fast you can run up nine flights of stairs, and then by practicing each day, see how long it takes you to lower your time.

31 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Get your friends together to write a play about the Black Panthers. 2. Use the results of your landlord survey to try and make improvements. 3. Design your own paper money with slogans you believe in.

32 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Are you learning stuff in school that feels valuable––and if so, what kind of stuff??

33 CHAPTER FOUR

34 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? Christopher Michael returns to the auditorium just in time to begin a regimen of medical tests conducted by a team of Blue nurses. He still can’t believe he made it back without being noticed! Maybe he will survive this after all. When CM takes the Visual Acuity Test, the nurse is amazed by his ability to read fine print from far away. She thinks he must be lying because his vision is even better than 20/20. As he proceeds through the testing, CM comes to realize that something fishy is going on and nobody will tell him why.

35 10 TALKING POINTS 1. A nurse tells CM that Red boys only get one chance to grow up if they are lucky. Q: What does she mean, and should CM be worried? 2. CM is being tested by equipment made by the Hope Vision Center USA. Q: Who do you think owns and operates this company, and what type of vision are they really testing? 3. Mrs. McNeal seems to know everything Christopher Michael has been doing that day. Q: How does she know so much? 4. Mrs. McNeal says she has big plans for CM regarding the assembly on Friday. Q: What do you think she has in mind, and is she making these plans by herself? 5. Nurse Ethel puts drops into CM’s eyes. Q: What do these drops do?

36 6. A nurse gives CM glasses to wear for another eye test.Q: How do these glasses affect his vision? 7. Mrs. McNeal tells CM that she will not share any secrets with Red children. Q: What kind of secrets might she be hiding? 8. The nurses surround CM and want him to take a handful of pills. Q: What do you think these pills are designed to do, and should CM trust the nurses? 9. As Christopher Michael escapes from the auditorium, he sees his classmates enjoying an extended recess, just as Mrs. McNeal had promised. Q: Can Mrs. McNeal be trusted? 10. Fear makes Christopher Michael run faster than he’s ever run before. Q: Can fear make us do things we normally cannot do?

37 A report in The Washington Times says that school districts in Texas are using tracking chips to spy on students. A federal judge has approved of forcing high school students to wear photo identification cards around their necks at all times. Cameras also watch pupils as they roam the halls and use the playgrounds. Some schools require students to carry “Smart IDs” with radio frequency identification chips (RFID) that enable administrators to pinpoint each child’s whereabouts in real time. According to The Washington Post, schools around the country have apparently been illegally using webcams to spy on their students.

38 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Find out if your school uses cameras––legally or illegally––to watch children. 2. Make up an eye test that everyone in your class can do. 3. Write a short play where you are trapped in a situation you must escape from, and show how you will overcome all odds and get away.

39 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Healthy vision is vital to reading and learning. If you haven’t had your eyes tested, arrange to see a doctor so you can. Meanwhile, ask to sit closer to the blackboard. 2. Find out if anyone in your class is having trouble seeing the blackboard or reading their books. If anyone is struggling, try to help that person get an eye exam. 3. Create an advertising campaign you can make public to remind everyone in your neighborhood about having eye exams.

40 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Who do you talk with about what you’re reading?

41 CHAPTER FIVE

42 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? When Alex Koke sees Christopher Michael race out of school into a web of crowded UnHappy streets, he’s very curious about why CM is on the run––again. Then he notices glasses in CM’s hand and he realizes Monday is testing day before “Moving Up” on Friday. Alex, who had the original idea for the glasses, can’t wait to find out why CM has them. All of this is fueling his desire to find out more about CM and where he lives. Up until now, Alex has lived in a White Happy bubble, but he suspects there is a lot more to learn.

43 10 TALKING POINTS 1. Blues live in colorful Victorian houses with modest lawns and gardens. They typically wear decent clothes and own large televisions. Q: What is the difference between Reds, Blues and Whites? Blues are constantly flirting with the prospect of living in Happy, so they continue buying lots of things they really don’t need and cannot afford, which means many live in debt. Q: Who is responsible for getting people in debt and can it be avoided? 3. Like their Red neighbors, who also live above their meager means, Blue people often end up in various levels of misery and many drown those feelings in soda and binge on candy. Q: What happens to people who binge on junk food? Do you know anyone who does that? 4. When people ingest junk food it often creates a coma effect, both physically and emotionally, which means that people often end up forgetting what is most important in life. Q: How can we avoid food comas and become more alert? 5. Although there are no written rules as to where UnHappy residents can live, there are certain factors that determine where one is born and grows up. Q: What factors have affected where you were born and raised?

44 6. Alex finds Christopher Michael in his computer’s database.Q: Is it okay to find personal information about strangers on a computer? 7. Alex notices vibrant graffiti sprayed all across the facade of CM’s apartment building, which says “So Much for Happy.” Q: What does that phrase mean? 8. Everyone in Happy and UnHappy knows that it’s virtually impossible for a Red person to pull himself up into any form of a better life. Q: Why is this true, and what might possibly change this? 9. Alex is supposed to take medication periodically throughout the day. Q: Why does Alex need to take pills every day, and who decided that? 10. Billboards can speak to one’s soul. Signs in UnHappy say things like “Know Your Place” and “Keep Your Nose Clean” and “Beware Your Limitations.” Q: What do these phrases mean? Why are they everywhere in UnHappy?

45 Food comas, also known as carb comas or “the itis,” are the sleepy feelings we experience after a meal or snack. That means our energy drops suddenly after we eat foods with substantial amounts of glucose (sugar), which is usually a sign that we are eating too much! A food coma, also known as postprandial somnolence, means our nervous system is responding to what we’ve put into our stomach and gastrointestinal tract. The increased sleepiness is temporary, but if it happens often after we eat then we should consider it to be a reliable sign that it’s time to reconsider our eating habits.

46 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. After some thorough investigation, make a list of billboards you like and dislike. 2. Write and design billboards that you think can inspire people. 3. Find out what foods put you in a food coma so you can begin to avoid them.

47 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Find places to put up the billboards you make.2. Ask people what junk foods they eat and which ones they think they can live without. 3. Organize a food festival featuring healthy, inexpensive snack foods.

48 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Do you like school? If so, why? If not, explain.

49 CHAPTER SIX

50 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? Christopher Michael makes it home from school, but even though he is relatively safe there, he is afraid. He escaped with the mysterious glasses. He doesn’t understand why he should be wearing them or what he is supposed to see with them on. Then, his father and grandfather start discussing “how it is” and if Hope is a state of mind and CM gets dizzy with all the adult talk! When his grandfather starts explaining how the world used to be occupied by people of all colors, Christopher Michael can’t take it any more. He’s hungry!

51 10 TALKING POINTS 1. The Whites who run CM’s school use surveillance cameras to track the movements of Red students and their families Q: Why is that happening, and how would you feel if this were true in your school? 2. Like many kids in UnHappy, CM has posters on his bedroom wall. Q: What kind of posters do you think he has, and is it possible that some are forbidden in UnHappy? 3. CM’s father has been working in the soda factory for many years. Q: Why does he work there––to get free soda? Or could there be some other reason? 4. Many schools in America offer soda and junk food to their students. In fact, in some schools it may be the only option food option they have. Q: Is this a good idea, and if not, how can it be changed? 5. Christopher Michael’s obsession with books is putting his family at risk. Q: Why do Whites make it illegal for Reds to read books?

52 6. The school nurses tried to make CM take medicine and wear glasses6. The school nurses tried to make CM take medicine and wear glasses. When he asked why he had to wear them, Mrs. McNeal said it was a secret. Q: What’s the secret, and what does CM’s father mean when he says Grandpa was right? 7. It’s been several months since Christopher Michael’s mother was “detained and discouraged,” a common practice by the Whites when a Blue or Red person raises any serious suspicion about activities that are deemed to be risky to the status quo. Q: Does this happen to all community organizers, and when do you think she will be returned to her family? 8. CM’s father tells CM that they can Hope his mother will return––and soon. Q: Is Hope a good idea? Can it help? Is it worthwhile? What does it really mean to Hope? 9. By 2020, hatred and greed has reduced human life to three races––Red, White and Blue, living in three sectors: Happy, UnHappy and Hope. Q: What is CM’s grandfather trying to tell him about all of this, and what is he protecting him from? 10. We hear references to “The American Dream” in all facets of life. Q: Is it real, and if so, what does it mean to you?

53 According to the Center for Disease Control, regular soda and fruit drinks contain added sugars but provide few, if any, essential nutrients. Their research found that frequent consumers of soda and fruit-drink are typically young, male blacks or Hispanics. A Yale University study found that a majority of Americans understand that soda is bad for them. But a Gallup poll reveals that nearly half of Americans drink 2.6 glasses of soda on a daily basis. Rates of soda consumption were higher with those between the ages of 18 and 34 and higher still among children and adolescents.

54 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Select a topic for conversation that seems difficult and create rules for how you can have that conversation in a peaceful way with those who might disagree with you. 2. As Christopher Michael’s “Moving Up” ceremony approaches, he is learning that the world is not as it appears to be. Identify how your world is––or is not––as it appears. 3. Survey your teachers to see what they think “racist” means.

55 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Find out how many different “colors” of people there are in your school. 2. Find out how many different “colors” of people there are in your neighborhood. 3. Create a coloring book that reflects what you found.

56 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Do you ever feel afraid to be at school?

57 CHAPTER SEVEN

58 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? When he wakes up, Christopher Michael’s grandfather greets him with a condensed lesson in American history, focusing on the Constitution and the beginnings of slavery. He also has an alternate pair of glasses for CM to wear back in school for the testing. That’s because he wants CM to begin to “see” the world around him in a different way because he’s getting old enough to learn about how the world really works. This information about the glasses is coming from someone who knows about the experiments being done by the Koke Brothers.

59 10 TALKING POINTS 1. CM’s brother, Huey Lewis, is named after Huey Newton, their grandfather’s old friend and colleague in the Black Panthers, and the great author, C.S. Lewis, who was CM’s mother’s favorite when she was growing up. Q: Do you like the idea of naming children after famous people? 2. C.S. Lewis believed that every one should have equal access to a quality education. Q: Why is this not happening today in the United States of America? 3. C.S. Lewis said, ‘The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts.” Q: What does that mean? 4. The Declaration of Independence guarantees the right to pursue Happiness. Benjamin Franklin said that people must take responsibility for making their own Happiness. Q: Do you think it’s working, and if not, how can things be changed for the better? 5. Slavery is still a touchy subject in America for people of all races. Q: Why do you think that is true, and do you think your school teaches history accurately?

60 6. When Christopher Michael’s father takes the glasses from his father, puts them on and stares at himself in the mirror, he is shocked, flabbergasted, awestruck and paranoid. Q: Why? 7. In the Koke Brothers experiment, people can see their true colors when they wear special glasses and use eye drops. Q: What does it really mean to see someone’s true colors, real or imagined? 8. CM’s grandfather says that there is no such thing as Red people. Q: Is that true, and if so, why do Red people think they are Red and Blue people think they are Blue? 9. Perception is a powerful tool in how we get along with each other. Q: How does this work? 10. Many people believe that it’s human nature to segregate and stay with “your own kind.” Q: Do you agree? If so, why? If not, explain.

61 Between 1962 and 1964, just before the rebellion in Watts, California, 65 people were killed by Los Angeles police, 27 of them shot in the back. Only one of those deaths was considered murder. This influenced the founding of the Black Panther Party in 1966 by an assortment of young Bay Area radicals whose initial mission was to legally follow and monitor police officers with unconcealed weapons. The Panthers created headquarters in 68 cities and their newspaper reached 150,000 readers. Popular social programs provided breakfast, clothing, and health care to many without it. But the FBI considered them a threat to American society.

62 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Imagine you are a grown up and starting a family. You have three children. Choose important people from history you would name each of them after and explain why you made each choice. 2. Research American history from the year 1619 and see what you find out about the first Africans who came to America. 3. Pick one member of the original Black Panthers and find out more about him or her.

63 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Create a Declaration of Independence with your classmates that is relevant for today. 2. Write to your elected officials suggesting changes you would like to see. 3. Create a survey regarding people’s feelings toward segregation. Conduct it at home and in your neighborhood and publish your findings in a school publication.

64 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Would you rather be in school right now or at home––and if so, doing what?

65 CHAPTER EIGHT

66 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? As he arrives at school on Tuesday morning, CM sees somebody standing in a window way up high in the ultra-luxury, high-rise Happy building that looks down on the school. Some kind of laser seems to be flashing at him. Alex is staring down at CM, aiming his laser at him, and hoping to attract his attention. CM knows he has to go inside his school and deal with the glasses, but the laser and who is controlling it continues to intrigue him. Meanwhile, he must deal with Dr. Alim and find out why his class is acting so strangely.

67 10 TALKING POINTS 1. A high-powered laser is not something common for kids in UnHappy. Q: Why is Alex Koke using a laser to attract Christopher Michael’s attention? 2. When CM enters his classroom, he finds chaos and no teacher. Everything appears wrong. Q: What’s happened, and how can you explain it? 3. CM’s teacher, Mrs. Trapp is missing. A man who calls himself Dr. Alim has replaced her. Q: Why is she missing? Does this seem okay, and if not, why? 4. CM is worried that Dr. Alim may be a spy for Mrs. McNeal and Triple K. Q: Is this possible, and if so, why is it necessary? 5. Christopher Michael is very smart, but he hasn’t yet discovered the relationship between wealth and class and race. Q: What might happen when he does?

68 6. Dr. Alim seems to know a lot about CM and appears to be nice.Q: Should CM trust him, and if not, why? 7. Christopher Michael cannot tell what exact color he would use to describe Dr. Alim. Q: Based upon what you have read, how would you describe Dr. Alim? 8. Dr. Alim says that, “curiosity is a life saver,” and that, “Without it, we’d be sitting home all day, watching the Weather Channel.” Q: What does he mean? 9. Dr. Alim also says that, “curiosity is vital to keep our minds and hearts functioning at their optimal level.” Q: Do you agree, and if so, what are you most curious about? 10. Alex seems to be flipping out in his penthouse when he sees CM, giving him the finger. Q: Why do you think he’s reacting like that, and do you think CM should meet him?

69 A laser emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The term is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation––L-A-S-E-R. Theodore H. Maiman built the first one in 1960 at Hughes Laboratories. Laser beams and pointers can focus on a tight spot, enabling cutting and lithography. Lasers are used in optical disk drives, printers, barcode scanners; fiber-optic and free-space optical communication; surgery and skin treatments; welding materials; military and law enforcement devices and lighting displays in entertainment.

70 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Experiment with a laser to find out what it can do in your classroom. 2. Ask 10 people (students, teachers, family, etc.) how they view the relationship between wealth and class and race. Gather the answers and create a chart to show special tendencies. 3. Make a list of the 10 things you are most curious about.

71 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Find out the answers to those 10 things that make you curious. 2. Do an art project in school based on your findings. 3. Create an advertising campaign to inspire people to be curious.

72 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Do your teachers care about you? Do any of them remind you of Mrs. Trapp or Dr. Alim?

73 CHAPTER NINE

74 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? Christopher Michael still isn’t sure if he trusts Dr. Alim, who has showed up out of nowhere. He’d like to tell him about this White boy who gave him the finger but he doesn’t know if Dr. Alim will simply think he’s making it up. Why should a Blue teacher––or a Purple one, if that’s even possible––believe a skinny, little Red kid like Christopher Michael? It just doesn’t normally happen like that in UnHappy. In fact, CM is used to people discouraging Red children like him from succeeding in school. But he knows that’s wrong. Any kid can suceeed.

75 10 TALKING POINTS 1. Dr. Alim admits to Christopher Michael that he is not a real doctor. Q: How would you feel about this if you were CM? 2. Dr. Alim thinks that Red children often feel that their teachers do not care about them as much as they would like and that if an actual doctor shows up to be their teacher then they must be worth something. Q: Does this make sense? Do you agree? Would you like a doctor as a teacher? 3. Most of the time, according to Dr. Alim, kids in UnHappy have little to feel good about. Q: Is he right? How can he know so much about Red kids’ feelings if he is a Blue person? 4. Christopher Michael sees many Red people who are sullen and angry. They frown on education, as if children are wasting their time in school because education has no value. Q: What do you think? Why should anyone feel like that? Can they be helped? 5. Most of CM’s teachers have tried to break him––and all his classmates––by making them feel small and useless. The Whites have done everything they can to make children know their place, and since the people in charge have all the wealth they control all of the systems. Q: How did this happen and what can we do to change it?

76 6. When schools are bad, government has to step in and that often means hiring private companies to make improvements, from buildings to equipment to staffing. Q: Who really profits from these unfortunate situations? 7. The phrase “survival of the fittest” is usually used in the context of animals in the wild. Q: How does “survival of the fittest” apply to humans? 8. In UnHappy, the White power structure controls schools, Kamps (juvenile detention centers) and prisons. Q: Why is this true in UnHappy and does this happen in the real world, too? If so, why? 9. Growing up, Christopher Michael has repeatedly heard the expression, “money equals Happiness,” and he constantly hears people talk about “lying Whites, shifty, no-good Blues and lazy Reds.” Q: Where do these ideas come from, and why? Who benefits from promoting these ideas? 10. CM has a huge passion for reading and has read many, many classics in secret. Q: Do you have a passion for reading? Do you ever read in secret?

77 Surveys of self-esteem among 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students conducted by the National Institute of Health show African-American students scoring highest, Whites slightly higher than Hispanics, and Asian Americans scoring lowest. Some experts predicted that because African Americans are a stigmatized group they will have lower self-esteem than the majority culture, but that is not the case. Some scholars suggested that African-American families strive to instill self-esteem in kids so they will be able to cope with discrimination.

78 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Create a “human food chain” and see where you fit in. 2. Conduct a survey of people in your neighborhood about the value of education. Make a chart showing how many graduated from grade school, high school and/or college. 3. Find out if any people you know went to college and how it helped them.

79 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Ask your local library to create reading programs for kids your age. 2. Go to a PTA meeting and find out how things are paid for in your school. 3. Have a reading party in your house!

80 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Do other kids ever make fun of you when you do well in school?

81 CHAPTER TEN

82 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? After his extended Q&A with Dr. Alim, Christopher Michael heads down the hallway of his school and peeks inside the main office to see if Mrs. McNeal is there. As he passes the main entrance, CM decides to see if that kid in the Happy high-rise has lifted up the blinds of his window so he can give CM the finger again. This time, White boy is pointing a knife at CM. Since he’s hungry, CM goes inside to eat, but he finds only madness inside the cafeteria. When he sees Alex outside again, the situation becomes even more disturbing.

83 10 TALKING POINTS 1. There are no guards at the front door of the school, as there usually are during lunchtime, to make sure kids don’t leave the building Q: Where are the guards and why are they not on duty, as usual? 2. When Alex threatens CM, his response is to wave and smile. Q: Why do you think he reacts like that? 3. Christopher Michael’s sixth grade class occupies the cafeteria like a mob gone crazy. Q: Why are they throwing food and screaming at each other? 4. Some kids are calling CM a Black boy. Q: How is that possible? What do they mean? 5. James, CM’s best friend, will not talk to him. Q: Why? What does James mean when he tells CM to go with “his own kind?”

84 6. James calls CM Black right to his face.Q: Is he kidding, and if not, how could he see CM so differently? 7. When CM gets out his binoculars to look more closely at the White boy in the penthouse, he sees that he is pointing a gun at him. Q: Why is Alex doing that? 8. Christopher Michael is wondering about what could make someone so lucky so UnHappy. Q: Is Alex as lucky as CM thinks? If so, why act so crazy? 9. UnHappy and Happy are both not Hope, and everyone who lives in each are obsessed with keeping it and making dreams come true. Q: Are we all obsessed with Hope? Is a person with no Hope not a person at all? 10. CM rushes back inside the school to see Dr. Alim and make sense of what’s going on. Q: Can Dr. Alim explain what’s going on with Alex and James?

85 According to the National Education Association, missing meals affect a child's academic performance and behavior in school, and hungry children are more likely to repeat a grade, be tardy for school, or miss school. Foods that promote proper nutrition improve behavior, performance and overall cognitive development. With school meals providing up to half of the daily calories and nutrients students consume, breakfast and lunch are more important than ever. Updated federal requirements for school breakfast and lunch programs are changing yesterday’s menus.

86 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Count the guards in your school and make a map of where they are positioned. 2. Make a list of Pros and Cons for living in Happy and UnHappy. 3. Create a Hope journal and try to write something in it every day for a week.

87 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Survey students, teachers and staff in your school about the cafeteria food. 2. Devise your own menu for what would make a balanced meal. Try to calculate what it would cost to make one lunch for the entire school. See how it compares to the current menu and budget that the school is using. 3. See if your school can begin sponsoring a cooking class so you and your family can learn to make healthy food for yourselves.

88 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Do you ever find it difficult to read when you are hungry?

89 CHAPTER ELEVEN

90 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? Christopher Michael’s brain is overloading with images of glasses and experiments and flying cheese sandwiches. On top of that his best friend thinks he’s Black, if that is even possible. He and Dr. Alim engage in some heated discussions about these issues and many others, including what happens when kids bully each other and discourage them from being good students. This type of behavior plays right into the hands of the puppeteers who run the world, the Maters of the Universe who do so much damage to the people of UnHappy.

91 10 TALKING POINTS 1. CM comes back from the cafeteria and asks Dr. Alim if he is really Red. Dr. Alim asks CM if he means Red as in his color or Red as a means of identity. Q: Are color and identity part of the same thing or something different? How do we know? 2. Dr. Alim refers to Whites in Happy as “Masters of the universe, or Heartless Heroes.” Q: What does he mean, and do you agree or disagree, and why? 3. When CM is asked if knows what a White supremacist is, he says they are “White people who think God loves them more than us.” Q: Is he right? How would you explain White supremacists, who they are and what they are about. 4. If we say the word “supremacist,” everyone will have the same picture in his or her mind: a White person. Q: True or False? Explain your answer. 5. Some people say that supremacy and the effects of tyranny that one group of people can inflict on another may happen anywhere in the world. Q: Have you ever heard the terms “Black supremacist” or “Hispanic supremacist” or “Asian supremacist?” Could they be possible in some places?

92 6. Dr. Alim turns off the surveillance cameras when he speaks with Christopher Michael.Q: Why does he do that, and can CM trust him? 7. Christopher Michael has trouble trusting people, and it makes him tired. Q: Do you have trouble trusting people, and if so, why? 8. Since there are masters of the universe there must be minors of the universe, too. These people are known as wannabe masters. Q: How would you define a wannabe master of the universe? 9. Sometimes, people tell kids that reading is stupid. Q: Why would they do that? What could that possibly accomplish? 10. CM says that if he can’t play in the NBA he wants to be a writer. Q: What do you want to be, and why?

93 The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “white supremacist” as: a person who believes that the white race is better than all other races and should control all other races. Before the Civil War, white supremacy was a common attitude in America. After the Emancipation Proclamation, many Northerners felt that blacks deserved equal rights and protection. But white supremacists in the South did not believe blacks should have these rights. They formed groups to promote whites and oppress blacks.

94 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Write the expression “Don’t cry over spilled milk” on as many index cards as you can. Hand them out to everyone you know and ask them to write down what it means to them. Then collect them and publish them together in a special gift book. 2. Survey your neighborhood to see what “The American Dream” means to your neighbors. 3. Write down what you want to be in life and put it away in a secret place.

95 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Make a list of what you think is unfair in life.2. Choose three things from that list that you think you can change. 3. Devise a plan to make the changes and get started!

96 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Do you believe going to school and getting an education is a worthwhile thing to do?

97 CHAPTER TWELVE

98 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? Christopher Michael should be having more eye tests but his curiosity is too strong so he goes outside with binoculars to see if that White boy is at his window. Alex uses his computer to spy on CM when he returns to the auditorium. As CM waits for Mrs. McNeal and the nurse, Alex and his brother scare him. CM still can’t figure out why those glasses have made his classmates act so strange. He wishes it would all be over so he can go outside and play basketball. That’s what he needs to keep things from spinning out of control.

99 10 TALKING POINTS 1. CM knows that if a White person from Happy wants to shoot a Red from UnHappy he just might do it because chances are good that he will not get in trouble. Q: How is this similar or different from the real world you live in? 2. CM knows that underestimating someone can be dangerous and life threatening. Q: Do you agree, and if you do, what do you do to be careful in these situations? 3. CM asks Nurse Shabazz about her name and finds out that it’s from “a very significant Black tribe that existed millions of years ago in Africa.” Q: Do you know where your name comes from? If not, can you guess? 4. Nurse Shabazz says she’s named after Malcolm X because it’s the name he took after his trip to Mecca and her parents named her that because they believed in him and his message. Q: Who do you think your parents believe in and do they tell you about it? 5. CM knows that he is Red and Mrs. McNeal is Blue. Q: Why is Nurse Shabazz confused by his recognition of these people’s colors?

100 6. When shown pictures of Red people, CM sees them as Red with and without the glasses.Q: How is this possible? 7. Nurse Shabazz never checks Christopher Michael’s glasses. Q: Why not? 8. Throughout his time in the auditorium, CM is thinking about Alex, even though he doesn’t yet know his name. Q: Why is CM so curious about this White boy from Happy? 9. Alex seemed to threaten CM with a knife and a gun. Q: Should CM be scared of Alex? 10. CM, under a lot of pressure, still told the truth to Nurse Shabazz. Q: Do you always tell the truth? If so, why, and if not, try to explain.

101 Malcolm Little, who changed his last name to X to signify his rejection of his “slave” name, was an American minister who challenged the mainstream civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. He urged followers to defend themselves against white aggression “by any means necessary.” In 1964, he became known as el Hajj Malik el Shabazz, an influential leader of the Nation of Islam, which sought to encourage disadvantaged young blacks searching for confidence in segregated America. After his death in 1965, his book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, inspired the Black Panther movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

102 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. CM says he is not an average Red boy and will not be average for anybody. Figure out why you are not average and then help your friends do the same thing. 2. Find out more about Malcolm X and develop a display for your school so that other kids can learn about him, too. 3. Create a short film based on one aspect of his life.

103 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Survey your family and see how many of them know about Malcolm X. 2. Find out the origins of your parents names, and why. 3. If you had children, who would you name them after?

104 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Do you think you know more than your parents? If your answer is yes, are you sure?

105 CHAPTER THIRTEEN

106 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? Alex invented glasses with invisible cameras installed in them so that the security force in Happy can monitor any suspicious activities in UnHappy. But he observes the children on the basketball court acting strangely, as if they are dividing themselves into cliques. Meanwhile, Mrs. McNeal and Dr. Alim discuss Christopher Michael and how important he seems to be, especially with the “Moving Up” ceremony approaching so quickly. When Alex finds out his glasses are being badly misused, he tries to arrange meeting CM at the wall.

107 10 TALKING POINTS 1. Alex takes medication every day.Q: Why do you think he needs it, and who do you think made that decision? 2. When the kids from CM’s school gather on the basketball court, they gather in cliques acting hostile and cold to each other. Q: How did that happen? 3. Alex watched CM’s classmates acting crazy in the cafeteria, as if they had been drugged. Q: Why were they acting like that? 4. Mrs. McNeal tries to find out more about Christopher Michael from Dr. Alim. Q: Why is she so curious about CM and why does Dr. Alim protect him? 5. Alex grows more and more intrigued by CM and thinks he may have special powers. Q: Is he right?

108 6. Mrs. McNeal says that a White puppeteer is someone who is beyond wealthy, a master of the universe, in control of essentially everything. Q: Do we have puppeteers in our society controlling anyone? Are they more powerful than the government? 7. The Koke Brothers arranged to have special lenses inserted in the glasses that can alter a person’s perception and literally change what they think they are seeing. Q: Is that possible, and do you think this is okay to do, especially with children? 8. Alex had no idea that his glasses were being used for more than spying on people. Q: Should he tell his brother or someone else? 9. Alex is shocked when he reads about how soda and candy were used to change people’s colors and perceptions of color. Now he wants to meet CM at the wall. Q: Should CM go? 10. CM can’t help feeling anxious and excited to finally meet Alex. Q: Why is he so interested in this White boy?

109 Beverage companies know the dangers of consuming sodaBeverage companies know the dangers of consuming soda. In the United States, they spend approximately $3.2 billion in marketing each year in an effort to tempt consumers to pick up a liter of brown bubbly sugar with their pizza, or a case of cans for their child’s next birthday party. Those little children have an 80 percent increased risk of developing type-2 diabetes if they become regular soda drinkers, which many of them do. Their future may be full of kidney problems, reproductive issues, osteoporosis, asthma, and bad teeth with dissolved tooth enamel.

110 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Try to act out what happens when drinking soda changes people’s perceptions of each other. See if you can tell what that feels like, even for a minute or two. 2. Wear masks and conduct interviews with each other. Does it change your attitudes when you don’t know someone’s color? 3. Try to create a meaningful “colorblind” test and see how it works.

111 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Find out what ingredients are in the soda you drink and see if it’s a good idea to drink it. 2. Do the same with any candy products you eat. Are you sure it’s worth it? 3. Create a menu of alternative and healthy snacks!

112 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Are you ever curious to meet someone who seems to be very different from you?

113 CHAPTER FOURTEEN

114 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? Christopher Michael is very nervous as he approaches the wall to meet Alex. It’s hard to imagine Happy and UnHappy being so close to each other, much like when two different human moods can switch in a matter of seconds. But unfortunately, Happy and UnHappy are not merely ideas; they are real and foreboding places. When CM and Alex finally meet, each of them are surprised by how the preconceived notions they had of each other are not exactly fulfilled. Both of them are surprised by the other’s demeanor and behavior.

115 10 TALKING POINTS 1. People in UnHappy are always pulled, like gravity, to the prison and the mental facility. Q: Why are Reds so obsessed with these two institutions? 2. This is CM’s first time at the wall. Up until now, he has had no reason to be anywhere near it or any part of it. Q: Why do Red people always stay away from the wall? 3. Christopher Michael stands as close to the wall as he thinks he can without being too close. But he doesn’t know whether he is six inches away or six feet. Q: Is his mind playing tricks on him? Is the wall real or a myth? 4. UnHappy is composed entirely of cracking, discolored concrete while Happy is full of lush, perfectly manicured grass and flowers. Q: Why is there such a disparity between the two? 5. Alex calls Christopher Michael a Rojo. Q: Why does he use that negative term? Does it have any real effect on CM, and should it?

116 6. In spite of his anxiety about the knife and the gun, CM smiles at Alex, which seems to enrage and confuse him. Q: Is that a good move by CM, and if so, why? 7. Alex and Christopher Michael have no trouble communicating with each other because they seem to be speaking the same language. Q: Are they alike somehow––even more than either of them would admit––or just pretending to be? 8. Alex tells CM that playing basketball can’t change anything about his situation. Q: Do you agree? Can it change anything? Is it okay to play games like basketball? 9. “Kids can get ready for the future now,” Alex says, “instead of wasting their time on a playground dreaming of becoming a professional basketball player.” Q: How do you feel about that? 10. CM tells Alex that there is only one tree in UnHappy. Q: Is that the reality or CM’s perception of reality?

117 Every civilization creates walls, some to keep people out and some to keep its people in. These walls may be made of brick and stone and trees and mountains. Walls are made from anything. They can even arise from behavior and the promise of something different, or better, or mythical and unreal. Walls are made from how we perceive race. These are the hardest to break. There is a Red, White and Blue flag, but none of these colors bleed into one another. That is by design. If they ever did, it would no longer be just Red, White and Blue. The flag would become an ever-changing shade of Purple.

118 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Find three places in the world where walls still exist to keep people away from each other. 2. Write down all the bad names you have ever been called. Look in the mirror and say them out loud, do a dance to destroy them, and then throw them away. Now, if you do that, they can’t hurt you anymore. 3. Play some basketball and think about what value it might have in your life.

119 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Build a (temporary) wall in your school to divide people and see how children react. 2. Plaster bad names on the walls of your school and see how kids react. Then explain why the names have been put there and how important it is to understand how they can hurt people. Once you have done that, make a ceremony of removing the words from the walls and from your hearts and minds. 3. Ask all the students to sign a contract saying they will stop using these words.

120 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Why do kids call each other bad names, especially if they want something good to happen?

121 CHAPTER FIFTEEN

122 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? This has been the weirdest day of his life. The whole thing with the glasses, Dr. Alim who is not really a doctor, French fries for lunch, his best friend James calling him Black, Nurse Shabazz and finally meeting Alex, a White boy from Happy with a toy knife and a gun. CM still doesn’t know that his grandfather replaced the lenses on his glasses. But he’s already had a tough enough time making sense of what he’s seen and deciphering his own perception of the day’s events. Once CM meets Alex, his understanding of Happy and UnHappy deepens.

123 10 TALKING POINTS 1. CM’s grandfather tells him that back when he was in school they told him that, “God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and they was both White.” Q: According to whom? Who was “they” and why was that the only version of the Bible? 2. “God made White people first and then he made some more people some other colors to serve the White folk,” This is another thing CM’s grandfather was told as a child. Q: Do you agree? How do you think statements like this affect our society? 3. Lots of people think that Jesus was White. Q: Is that possible, and if so, how does it matter? 4. CM’s grandfather says that White folks claim that since Jesus is White, anyone who is not White is not blessed by God. Q: Can this possibly be true, and who says so? How can the record be set straight on this? 5. According to CM’s grandfather, “In America, there’s a club of White men running the show and they aren’t too keen on inviting anybody else to the party.” Q: What do you think he means, and do you agree?

124 6. “The Black Panthers came to exist,” he says, “to make the world a better place.”Q: Did they succeed? If so, how? If not, how can things be improved? 7. No matter where you are, people of all kinds Hope for things related to their own experience. Q: What do you Hope for, and why? 8. Change requires persistence and real dedication. Q: What do you care about so much that you will persevere and remain dedicated to affecting change? 9. Reading about history can be very important. Q: How do you think it can help us? 10. In CM’s dream, he first sees himself smiling in his mother’s arms and held aloft by his father. The dream skips ahead to CM as a teenager. The only thing important now is what CM’s friends think, and making it through another day in UnHappy without getting whacked by a fist or a car or a gun. Or a cop. Q: Does this dream sound realistic? Is it familiar to you or anyone you know?

125 If you Google “Jesus” and “race” you will find an endless stream of theories, some with supposed proof, about the nature of his birth and the color of his skin. Some claim that since Jesus was of Jewish heritage, he had a certain skin tone, while others claim that this has no bearing on determining his color. Contrasting theories have him black as night, while others say he was pale as the moon. Of course there is no absolute truth in this regard, and each of us can only decide what feels right to us at any given time.

126 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Create a survey asking if people believe in Adam and Eve, and if so, what race were they? 2. Make a movie about a club of people trying to control other people who eventually run into trouble because not everyone wants to cooperate. 3. Design a Hope exhibit that can be displayed in your school.

127 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Next time someone in your family asks you how your day was, try an answer better than “good.” Use more words to describe what happened and how you feel about it. 2. Do some research and find out what parts of history are not being taught in history that you think should be included. 3. Find out from your local police what concerns them most in your neighborhood.

128 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Why do most people feel such a strong desire to be accepted?

129 CHAPTER SIXTEEN

130 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? All sixth graders have been told to turn in their glasses at school first thing Wednesday morning or face Kamp, and as Mrs. McNeal says, “Not even a Red child deserves what they do to children there!” Inside the auditorium, Mrs. McNeal puts CM on the spot, telling him he will be giving a speech at the “Moving Up” assembly on Friday. Later, CM goes back to the visit the tree and finds something written there that Alex won’t exactly explain. When he goes back to figure it out, CM runs into a policeman who gives this Rojo a very hard time.

131 10 TALKING POINTS 1. Mrs. McNeal tells Dr. Alim about the negative effects that Kamp has on Red kids. Q: Why does this system exist, and do you think it can help kids who get in trouble? 2. Mrs. McNeal also says that any Red boy or man in Kamp or prison is a slave to the system, which is owned and operated by Whites. Q: Do you agree? Is this okay? If not, how can it be changed? 3. Since the glasses caused some crazy reactions among the children, the Koke Brothers want to tinker with the glasses before continuing the experiment.” Q: What kind of changes can they make, and is this experiment something that should even be happening? 4. Dr. Alim lets CM go home real quick to get his glasses. Q: Why does Dr. Alim help CM, and should he trust him? 5. The theme for the “Moving Up” ceremony of 2020 will be “So Much for Happy.” Q: What do you think that means? And, why is it so strange for a kid like CM to ask such a question?

132 6. Mrs. McNeal puts CM on the spot to answer the question in front of everybody.Q: What do you think of his answer? How would you answer it? 7. Some of the students will be playing music or singing at the assembly. Q: What would you like to do if you had the chance to perform at a “Moving Up” assembly? 8. Christopher Michael is on his way to play basketball when he remembers he hasn’t been to the tree. When he gets there, he sees an engraving that says, the truth is hidden in plain sight. Q: What does that mean? And, why won’t Alex give CM a straight answer? 9. When he meets Alex at the wall, CM says to him, “You’re trying to steal my dreams!” Q: What does CM mean, and do you think Alex is trying to do that? Is it possible? 10. It sounds like the policeman beats up Christopher Michael pretty good. Q: Why does this happen in the first place, and what can CM do? Can he report it? If he does, to whom, and will he or she listen?

133 According to the FBI, youth under age 18 accounts for 14% of all arrests. On any given day, over 70,000 juvenile offenders are not living in their homes but are held in juvenile detention facilities, corrections facilities, group homes or shelters. Two-thirds of youth in detention are held for nonviolent charges, like property offenses, drug offenses, probation violations, or for crimes that wouldn’t be crimes if they were adults, like running away or breaking curfew. 25% of detention centers are at or over their capacity, which impairs their ability to properly care for the youth.

134 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Create an experiment with a pair of glasses that might alter how you see things and/or perceive them. (Hint: Ask a local vendor for a pair of old glasses they don’t need anymore.) 2. Write a speech that you would like to give at a graduation ceremony, and then deliver it in front of your class or possibly another school group. 3. Do a survey of other school children, asking them to describe their dreams

135 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Find out if there is a juvenile detention center in your area and see if any of the children there might like a pen pal. 2. Design provocative signs that can be left around trees in your neighborhood. Make sure they are not harmful to the environment. 3. Create a “Dream Machine,” where kids can enter a space, close their eyes, and act out their dreams––without being judged or made fun of by other kids!

136 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Have you ever seen a policeman beating up a child?

137 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

138 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? When Christopher Michael’s father wakes him up the next morning he is shocked to find that his son has been beaten up in the head, across his cheek, under his ribs and all down his back. There’s still blood on his pillow. But he goes to school, gets some insight from Dr. Alim, and ends up meeting Alex, who is shocked that CM has been beaten up. After sparring back and forth on the merits of being Red or White, Alex asks Christopher Michael to come back with him to the tree, because he wants to show him something.

139 10 TALKING POINTS 1. CM lives in UnHappy, where it’s not safe for a Red kid after dark. Q: Is it safe after dark where you live? If not, how do you deal with it? 2. CM tries to hide his wounds from his father. Q: Is that the right move? Have you ever been hurt and tried to hide it from anyone? 3. CM’s dad says he’s lost one son already––CM’s brother. Q: What do you think happened to him? 4. Christopher Michael’s father knows that CM probably did nothing wrong and that the cop acted out with some messed-up ego trip by beating up CM––just because he could. Q: Do cops in UnHappy routinely do this? Can it happen anywhere? 5. CM’s father shows him a whole stash of forbidden books he’s got hidden under the floorboards of the kitchen. Q: Why do you think he shows CM the books? Why now?

140 6. When CM sees the Black Panther logo, things start making sense for him.Q: What is CM starting to understand about his grandfather and his father and reading books? 7. Dr. Alim tells CM to be careful about going to the wall. Q: Does Dr. Alim know Alex? Are they connected somehow to what’s going on? 8. Dr. Alim tells CM that he can show him where to look, but it’s up to him to see. Q: What does he mean, and does CM already know? 9. For Alex, getting beat up by a policeman is a totally foreign idea and impossible to imagine in the world he knows. Q: Do you know kids like Alex? Is getting beat up in your neighborhood something you can imagine? 10. Some say that education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world. Q: Do you agree? If not, why? If you do, how do you think that works?

141 According to the CATO Institute’s National Police Misconduct Reporting Project, in 2010 there were 4,861 unique reports of police misconduct involving 6,613 sworn officers and 6,826 alleged victims. Though Americans commonly believe law enforcement’s role in society is to protect them and ensure peace and stability within the community, police departments are often more focused on enforcing laws, making arrests and issuing citations. Since 9/11, about 5,000 Americans have been killed by U.S. police officers, which is almost equivalent to the number of U.S. soldiers who have been killed in the line of duty in Iraq.

142 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Make a list of books that you think could be banned in the world you live in. 2. Imagine you are starting your own publishing company. What type of books would you publish? What would you call it and what would your logo look like? Make a design for both. 3. Create a curriculum that you feel would provide the education you and your friends need in order to thrive in today’s world.

143 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Make a list of what you would like to learn and present it to your teacher and/or parents. 2. See if you can get your local library to produce programming that you would enjoy. 3. Create a film that shows how greedy people hurt others, often without realizing the harm they are doing.

144 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Do you think any form of slavery exists in America today?

145 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

146 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? After Christopher Michael confronts Alex’s brother Henry in their apartment, challenging him on his supposed superiority as a White person, he and Alex hightail out of there and head to UnHappy, where CM shows Alex what that side of town is really like. Along the way, they discuss color, race, money and many other topics that most 12-year-olds do not allow themselves to explore. Finally, they arrive at the fabled tree, and there they learn about its secret history, one that will come to affect both boys in very different ways.

147 10 TALKING POINTS 1. Alex explains that the wall is a psychological one that Red and Blue people must deal with as a barrier to their ever having a chance of living in Happy. Q: Does CM see it that way, and do you? Are there any barriers keeping you from Happy? 2. According to Alex, there are no Red people or Blue people. It’s an illusion that people want to accept to explain how the world works. Whites simply created them. Q: Is that even possible, even in the year 2020? What does this say about the powers of perception? 3. Red, White and Blue are the colors of the flag and of the people in So Much for Happy. Q: What does color have to do with opportunity for all of them? What role does it play for you? 4. Alex says that color equals money. Q: Do you agree? If so, how does that work? If not, how do you explain the disparity between those with money and those without? 5. In UnHappy, chemicals change people’s color and determine how long they will live. Q: How is this possible? Do you think it is real or something accomplished through the power of persuasion?

148 6. People can become addicted to soda, feelings of inadequacy, greed and/or power.Q: How do people become addicted to material objects? How do they become addicted to thoughts and ideas? 7. Alex thinks that there is no long-lasting money to make in curing anything and boatloads of profit to be made in perpetual problems. Q: Do you agree? If so, why do you think this is true, and can the situation be changed? If so, how? 8. Dr. Alim tells CM he went from Red to Blue through a change in diet and psychology. Q: Can people change enough inside that they may begin to look different, too, on the outside? 9. When the origins of the tree are finally explained to CM and Alex, it’s not a pretty piece of history for them to digest. Q: Do you think history is always portrayed accurately in the textbooks we read? How can we find out if it’s all true, or complete? 10. As CM tries to run away from UnHappy and nears a wall of police, a gunshot rings out and a policeman throws Christopher Michael into a waiting, unmarked van. Q: Where are they headed, and will CM survive this encounter with the police?

149 On June 14, 1777, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress adopted a resolution, reading: “Resolved, that the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.” With these words, the Stars and Stripes were born. Yet the resolution never noted the significance behind the choice of red, white and blue. The three colors did not have any official meaning when the flag was adopted and over the years, its interpretation is up to each person that salutes it.

150 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. CM’s grandfather tells him that, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Make list of the things you think you cannot do. 2. Now, make a plan to do three of those things. Find out how you must prepare and create a plan to make them happen. 3. Write a report about how your efforts unfolded and how things turned out.

151 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Pick a piece of history you have learned in school and make sure that everything you’ve read is true. Then check if it’s complete, because some of the truth may be missing. 2. Create your own history book, based on what you discover. 3. Ask questions of your parents and teachers. Be curious!

152 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Share your thoughts on the following quote: “Give a man a gun and he will rob a bank. Give a man a bank and he will rob the world.”

153 CHAPTER NINETEEN

154 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? Christopher Michael is dragged into the Facility, where a guard––the same one he threatened to pee on in school––makes him feels threatened like he’s never felt before. When he calls his father to explain, he breaks down. Then, he meets Dr. Cox, who plays a series of mind games with CM. But Christopher Michael is determined to stay strong and do whatever it takes to get to his “Moving Up” ceremony scheduled for the next day. Between Happy Meals, seeing himself as White and visiting a fictional beach, CM’s mind is about to blow.

155 10 TALKING POINTS 1. Christopher Michael thinks he may be in the Facility because he now knows the truth about colors and perception. Q: Is that why CM is there or could there be another reason? 2. Everything is not like CM used to think. Meeting Alex Koke and finding out about Dr. Alim and the hanging tree and all the ideas about Hope have CM quite confused. Q: Do you think CM is right about the differences between Whites and Reds and Blues? Is it that simple? 3. Dr. Cox is the most prominent psychiatrist in Happy. He is also the private psychiatrist of the Koke family, available 24/7, which means he is the one prescribing pills for Alex. Q: Does Alex really need to take pills each day? Could it be a way of controlling him? Since Dr. Cox already has control over Alex, what kind of control does he want to have over Christopher Michael? 4. When Dr. Cox offers Christopher Michael a Happy Meal, CM cannot resist. Q: Why is that? Is he just hungry, or is he being manipulated some other way? 5. CM’s dad and grandfather feel pretty sure that CM will not crack under pressure. Q: Do you agree? Is the Black Panther Press safe or will CM tell someone in the Facility?

156 6. Christopher Michael tells Dr6. Christopher Michael tells Dr. Cox that he is a White supremacist dressed up as a doctor. Q: What do you think CM means? Can people hide who they really are? If so, how? 7. When Dr. Cox injects CM with a mysterious potion, CM sees himself as different colors. Q: Does making him another color make him more attractive, or smarter, or a better person? Are those things determined by color and perception? 8. Christopher Michael is told that there is no such place as Happy or Hope, that no matter what he does or thinks, he will always be a nigger from Philadelphia. Q: Is that true or is it simply what Dr. Cox, a White person, wants CM to believe? 9. Dr. Cox tells Christopher Michael to say the words he sees on the teleprompter––and nothing else. If he does, he graduates. If he doesn’t, he faces very bad consequences. Q: Do you think Dr. Cox expects CM to follow the rules? Is he setting him up? 10. CM receives a note from Alex, saying, “For many, Happy is a figment of their imagination, but not for you. For you, it is now your destiny.” Q: What do you think this means? And, could Alex be right?

157 Specifically marketed at children, The Happy Meal has sold at McDonald's since It began in Guatemala with the “Menu Ronald,” intended to help mothers feed their children. McDonald's management had the product developed by Bob Bernstein, founder of an advertising agency that has worked with McDonald's since Bernstein developed the concept and name to create a better experience for families with kids. In recent years, The Happy Meal has come under criticism for contributing to the growing problem of childhood obesity.

158 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Go to a McDonald’s and watch families eating. See if the food makes children Happy. 2. Create your own version of a Happy Meal that is healthy. 3. Select a friend who is about to accomplish something significant, like a graduation. Write him or her a letter, describing what makes you proud of what they have accomplished.

159 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Go to a local McDonald’s and ask them to add more fresh foods to the Happy Meal. Keep it up until they make an effort to feed people better food. 2. Create a “Look in the Mirror and Tell Me What You See” game that you can play with younger students in your school or with little brothers or sisters at home. 3. Pick something you think you might be addicted to, like television or video games or Happy Meals, and see what it’s like to skip one of them for a full day or week.

160 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY Who do you think created the word nigger, and what does it mean to you?

161 CHAPTER TWENTY

162 WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE? Christopher Michael is nervous as he stands at the podium, ready to deliver the speech he is supposed to give from the teleprompter, the one the Koke Brothers and Dr. Cox and Mrs. McNeal and everyone else expect of him. But the teleprompter is not working, and when Mrs. McNeal gives CM the green light to talk on his own, everything changes very fast. CM steps into that place called Hope, and from there he experiences a feeling of freedom he has never felt before. By the time he is finished speaking, the auditorium is in chaos.

163 10 TALKING POINTS 1. For CM, having the chance to speak his mind is thrilling beyond his wildest dreams, even though he knows he is risking the wrath of Dr. Cox and the Koke Brothers. Q: Why does Christopher Michael take the chance to speak so openly? Would you do the same thing? 2. CM describes his dream, where he is at the wall, wrestling with a police officer, and the next minute he was in Happy, wondering why he was there. Q: What does that dream mean to you? What does it symbolize? Can dreams teach us things? 3. During his speech, CM wonders aloud if Happy is not as Happy a place as we think. Q: Could he be right? How easy is it to develop false impressions of places and people? Why does it happen? 4. CM’s mother has been “detained and discouraged” so he doesn’t know if she and his dad will ever dance again or if he will ever see her again, either. Q: Why do you think she was detained, and in this crazy world do you think she will ever go free? 5. When CM grabs the microphone and keeps going, Mrs. McNeal is unsure what to do. Q: Do you think she is rooting secretly for CM and/or just hoping to keep her job?

164 6. CM says, “Racism and classism are man-made6. CM says, “Racism and classism are man-made. God and nature have nothing to do with it!” Q: What do you think of CM’s big proclamation? Does everyone already know this or is it something that people need to be reminded of––over and over again? 7. CM’s grandfather says that people have to keep on with the fight. Q: What fight is he referring to, and do you think he is right? 8. Mrs. McNeal told CM and his classmates that their lives are of limited value. Q: What did she mean? Do you agree? Has anyone ever told you anything like that? 9. “The inmates are taking over the asylum,” says Dr. Alim, seemingly enjoying Mrs. McNeal’s predicament in the auditorium. Q: What does he mean? Who are the real inmates and who really runs the asylum? 10. When Christopher Michael gets his diploma, he seems trapped. Alex disappears. Then CM wonders whether he can escape Mrs. McNeal and the guards and meet Alex at the wall. Q: Does he make it here? What’s next for Christopher Michael and his family?

165 According to a recent study by America’s Promise Alliance, a group founded by Colin Powell, former United States Secretary of State, for the first time in American history the high school graduation rate was over 80 percent. If this rate of improvement is sustained, by 2020 the high school graduation rate will approach 90 percent. Whites have an average graduation rate of 85 percent compared to 76 percent for Hispanics and 68 percent for Blacks. A 2014 Action News report revealed that nearly one out of ten students are dropping out of Philadelphia schools each year.

166 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. CM says that truth can be hidden but it can never be stolen once you have it. You just have to grab it and hold on. Make a list of the truths you want to hold onto, no matter what. 2. CM says that he learned more in the Facility in one night than he learned all year in school. What have you learned so far during this year in school? Make a list of everything you can remember and compare it to your classmates. You can teach each other! 3. CM doesn’t understand too much about what his grandfather did with the Black Panthers back in the day. Find out more on your own and see what lessons there are to learn.

167 A CALL TO ACTION 1. Find out about the history of your school. See if there is anything people are hiding. 2. Identify someone in your family or school or neighborhood that you are proud of and then ask them to tell you more about their life and what you can learn from them. 3. Write the speech you would like to give at your next graduation.

168 JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY What does Hope mean to you?

169 ABOUT THE AUTHORS E.P. McGILL was born and raised in the University City section of West Philadelphia and has maintained close ties to that community ever since. The son of a schoolteacher and a custodial manager, he has worked in all facets of the aquarium trade—from owning and operating retail aquarium centers to maintaining an interactive aquarium in Martha's Vineyard. So Much for Happy, McGill's debut novel, was inspired by his hope that people can finally move beyond the limits of race and class. DAVID TABATSKY is a writer and editor whose books include The Boy Behind the Door, a fictionalized account of a Dutch Holocaust survivor; Write for Life: Communicating Your Way Through Cancer; Dear President Obama: Letters of Hope from Children Across America; Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cancer Book; and The Overparenting Epidemic. He has written for The Forward, Parenting and the Sesame Workshop, and teaches writing workshops at cancer centers across the country. He lives in New York City. Please visit