Discussion & Analysis Born A Crime

Chapter 1

Why do you think faith and the church meant so much to Trevor’s mother during Apartheid? What do the differences between “black church” and “white church” say about the divergent experiences of those two communities in Cape Town?

How does the incident with the minibus driver illustrate the “divide and conquer” tactic that the Apartheid government utilized to control the black majority in South Africa? Where do you see this strategy at work in our own society and what are its effects?

Chapter 2

Which Apartheid policies or practices enrage you the most? Do you see any of these codes or attitudes reflected in American society? In your mind, what makes institutionalized racism so “unsustainable and incoherent,” as Noah remarks (p. 21)?

What do you think of Patricia Noah’s decision to have Trevor? What did it represent to her to bring him into the world? Are you practicing this kind of holy or righteous defiance in your own life?