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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 3: "Part Three: The Eight Pillars of Caste".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Wilkerson in In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what do social scientists say combines with racial bias to produce racism?
(a) Systemic power.
(b) Overt hatred.
(c) Extremism.
(d) Personal intention.

2. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what does Wilkerson say we are doing when we "see" race?
(a) Taking in only a small number of the features that actually differentiate races.
(b) Noting arbitrary physical signs that we have been taught to read as "race."
(c) Perpetuating a system of oppression.
(d) Participating in a self-reinforcing cycle that causes us to "see" what we expect to see.

3. In "A Long-Running Play and the Emergence of Caste in America," what does Wilkerson say Americans want to dismiss as a "sad, dark chapter" of American history (43)?
(a) The Colonial treatment of Blacks.
(b) The Jim Crow era.
(c) The Trump presidency.
(d) Slavery.

4. In "Pillar Number Eight: Inherent Superiority versus Inherent Inferiority," what is Wilkerson's central claim?
(a) That American Blacks have historically been treated like animals.
(b) That the caste system depends on all members of the lowest caste being treated as inferior to all members of the highest caste.
(c) That even ordinary events like getting onto a bus reflect the premise that Blacks are inferior.
(d) That Black Americans have had to learn an elaborate performance of inferiority.

5. 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)?
(a) Dinnertime.
(b) Sunday mornings.
(c) Recess at public schools.
(d) School lunch time.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," where does Wilkerson say the term "Caucasian" came from?

2. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what reason does Wilkerson give for most people's participation in the American caste system?

3. On page 11, what does Wilkerson indicate the term "evangelical voters" is code for?

4. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what is the rhetorical purpose of including information about Hammond's nieces?

5. On page 16, Wilkerson says that people adjust to the "idiosyncrasies" of an old house. What is she saying that they adjust to?

(see the answer key)

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