Nigeria Jones: Part Two

by Ibi Zoboi
Not wanting the same path as her father, a revolutionary Black nationalist who founded the separatist Movement in Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Nigeria Sankofa Jones decides to apply for legal emancipation.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three–Epilogue
40 words 10 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    Loud thunder rolls high above Philly, and the pounding on umbrellas and on the pavement makes everything ominous and dreary—as if this is the end of the world.
  2. legacy
    anything handed down by someone or something in the past
    “We are one of the oldest schools in this country and are part of a long legacy of Quakers, or the Religious Society of Friends, who were prohibited from owning slaves and were the country’s first abolitionists, many of whom were essential to the Underground Railroad.”
  3. deluge
    an overwhelming number or amount
    This isn’t the place or the time, but I didn’t know that I’d been holding back a deluge of tears.
  4. defer
    hold back to a later time
    Your application was complete since spring of last year, but we didn’t have any openings for the tenth grade. So, we deferred your acceptance and offered you a seat for this year.
  5. cultivate
    teach or refine to be discriminative in taste or judgment
    Your mother sent us the essays you’d written and videos of your speeches. The world needs your voice, and this is exactly where you need to be in order to cultivate it.
  6. noble
    having high or elevated character
    “Don’t confuse the noble actions of one person for the atrocities of an entire people.”
  7. manifestation
    an appearance in bodily form
    She wears wooden mala beads on each wrist, and she must think she’s the perfect manifestation of love and light, as I’ve heard her mother say.
  8. affinity
    a close connection marked by community of interests
    “We have some affinity groups like Black Girl Magic poetry and Black Lives Matter activism and Black at Philly Friends, where we try to address how we’re treated here. Those are cool, but I like to be friends with everybody. It’s more reflective of the world we live in.”
  9. vaudeville
    a genre of variety show with songs, comic acts, etc.
    “This year, we’ll continue the history of dance in America, starting with the vaudeville performers of the late eighteen hundreds,” she says as we all sit on the floor of a real dance studio complete with wall-to-wall mirrors, barres, and a baby grand piano.
  10. nonchalantly
    in a composed and unconcerned manner
    “Honestly, Gigi, I wasn’t even trying that hard,” he says nonchalantly.
  11. redundant
    repeating the same sense in different words
    “Constitutional law is, quite frankly, redundant,” the teacher says as he takes a seat around the table.
  12. paraphernalia
    equipment consisting of miscellaneous articles
    He studied at Princeton undergrad and law, according to all the paraphernalia around the room.
  13. elaborate
    add details to clarify an idea
    “Care to elaborate?”
  14. discourse
    an extended communication dealing with some particular topic
    We’re all learning here. We have discourse, we read the books, we have the most diverse teaching staff.
  15. submissive
    inclined or willing to give in to orders or wishes of others
    “Look up and face me when I’m talking to you.”
    I do as he says.
    “Defend yourself, Nigeria! I didn’t raise you to be submissive!”
  16. integrate
    open up to members of all races and ethnic groups
    “Can they bus kids from the hood like they did back in the day? Can we integrate?”
  17. truancy
    failure to attend, especially school
    “Let them know who you are and where you come from. Truancy cops try to pick you up, they’ll know who to call.”
  18. indoctrination
    teaching someone to accept beliefs uncritically
    “The American education system is founded on white supremacist ideas of indoctrination and groupthink mentality.”
  19. dilapidated
    in a state of decay, ruin, or deterioration
    Whenever we drive through one of these narrow blocks lined with dilapidated row houses, people break their necks trying to see who all is in here.
  20. upstanding
    meriting respect or esteem
    He was a morally upstanding man of great stature and—
  21. turmoil
    violent agitation
    “Did you all know that the word ‘slavery’ does not appear in the Constitution? Yet, it is an institution that is foundational to all the ills and turmoil in this country.”
  22. loophole
    an ambiguity that makes it possible to evade an obligation
    Tyler and I seem to be tag-teaming on this, so I say, “Yeah, like how slavery continues today without it being called slavery. A loophole in the Thirteenth Amendment allows for mass incarceration and the growth of the prison industrial complex.”
  23. incumbent
    currently holding an office
    But the series of debates with incumbent senator Stephen Douglas in 1858 were where Lincoln solidified his ideas on slavery before he ran for the presidency.
  24. patriarchy
    a form of social organization in which men hold power
    “And still we don’t have a woman president. So community standards is the patriarchy versus women’s rights as individual liberty.”
  25. privatize
    move away from governmental or public ownership or control
    “Maybe that could be one of our points for the debate,” he says. “Community standards as overpriced and privatized education versus individual liberty as freedom to choose the quality of our education.”
  26. conjure
    summon into action or bring into existence
    So I’ll take my mother’s place and retell our history of enslaved ancestors and brutal masters, conjuring magic and blackbird wings.
  27. clause
    a separate section of a legal document
    “It was a civil rights Supreme Court decision,” he continues, “that stated laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment. He was white; she was Black.”
  28. gentrify
    renovate so as to make it conform to middle-class aspirations
    But the place is kind of bland—light gray walls and I think this is what they call a modern design.
    “Did y’all gentrify this neighborhood?”
  29. mince
    make less severe or harsh
    You don’t mince your words, do you? Just straight for the jugular.
  30. bastion
    a group that defends a principle
    “You think Philly Friends is a white supremacist institution? The Quakers would disagree.”
    “I mean, it’s not a bastion of diversity, that’s for sure.”
  31. Marxism
    theory that capitalism will be superseded by communism
    “Well...I’m leaning more toward Marxism, but I believe that all forms of hierarchy are oppressive,” he says.
  32. anarchist
    an advocate of the abolition of governments
    “What if I were in charge?”
    “The world would probably make sense. There wouldn’t be a need for anarchists.”
  33. seethe
    be in an agitated emotional state
    He’s clutching the steering wheel in a way I hadn’t seen him do before. His jaw is locked and his eyes are narrowed on the dimly lit streets. He’s seething, and I can feel it from the back seat.
  34. duvet
    a soft quilt usually filled with down
    Sage said that they’re organic cotton sheets, and the duck feathers in my duvet are responsibly sourced.
  35. wispy
    thin and weak
    A playlist of soft-rock melodies paired with wispy or throaty voices blasts out of Bluetooth speakers.
  36. inhibition
    the conscious exclusion of unacceptable thoughts or desires
    So I listen to their words, a mix of sadness and inhibition.
  37. sinewy
    stringy and difficult to chew
    During dinner, I chew on a piece of chicken for the first time in my life, and the salty, sinewy flesh unlocks a deep hunger I didn’t know I had.
  38. transcendence
    a state of being beyond the limits of material experience
    When I’m settled and calm, she holds a singing bowl over my head, and the vibrating chimes reach my bones and awaken something deep inside of me. I’m fully alert and aware of everything around, while feeling as if each cell in my body is fast asleep. This is better than being calm; it’s transcendence.
  39. exorcise
    expel through adjuration or prayers
    I spill it all, and maybe it’s the smoke that exorcises my father’s words and ideas out of me.
  40. eugenics
    the promotion of controlled breeding in human populations
    “Really? Did you know she wanted to weed out Black people? It’s called eugenics.”
    “Maybe she thought she was helping Black women take control of their bodies.”
    “She believed that Black people are a lesser race and the fewer Black babies being born, the better the world would be.”
Created on Thu Mar 21 16:44:08 EDT 2024 (updated Fri Mar 22 16:12:52 EDT 2024)

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