View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 6: "Part Six: Backlash".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," why does Wilkerson include the story of Corey Lewis and the children he was supervising?
(a) It is an example of white policing of Blacks doing ordinary everyday things.
(b) It is an example of police violence toward Black Americans.
(c) It is an example of whites assuming they have the right to supervise Black children.
(d) It is an example of Black parents trying to protect their sons from the dangers of being Black in America.

2. Where does the word "caste" come from?
(a) The Portuguese word "casta," meaning "breed" or "race."
(b) The Old Norse word "kasta," meaning "throw."
(c) The Latin "castus," meaning "chaste."
(d) The Middle English "outcasten," meaning "to expel or reject."

3. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," what does Wilkerson describe at the site of the bunker where Hitler died?
(a) A museum and educational center stands there now.
(b) It is frequently the site of neo-Nazi rallies and demonstrations.
(c) It has been paved over and is used as an ordinary parking lot.
(d) There is a moving monument to concentration camp victims.

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," which of the following groups does Wilkerson say tends to show more of the negative health impacts of prejudice?
(a) Male Mexican Americans.
(b) Poor Mexican Americans.
(c) Middle-class Mexican Americans.
(d) Female Mexican Americans.

5. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," Wilkerson says that actions that reinforce the caste system are "autonomic." What is the best meaning of this word in this context?
(a) Spontaneous, occurring without planning.
(b) Involuntary, occurring without choice.
(c) Autonomous, occurring without social or environmental input.
(d) Automatic, occurring without conscious thought.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Pillar Number Six: Dehumanization and Stigma," what is the best definition of the word "stigma"?

2. In "Chapter Eleven: Dominant Group Status Threat and the Precarity of the Highest Rung," Wilkerson discusses biases that occur without thought. What is this kind of bias called?

3. In "Defining Purity and the Constancy of the Bottom Rung," what does Wilkerson note is referred to as "the most segregated hour in America" (128)?

4. How many American states had laws officially prohibiting marriage between Blacks and whites?

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," what does Wilkerson tell Gwen Ifill she thinks is behind Trump's popularity?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 438 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample