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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," Wilkerson relates the story of a white Brooklyn woman who called the police because of an alleged "sexual assault." How old was the Black person she told the police had assaulted her?
(a) 70.
(b) 14.
(c) 9.
(d) 60.

2. In "Chapter Eleven: Dominant Group Status Threat and the Precarity of the Highest Rung," what does Wilkerson argue the lowest-status Whites have been given in the place of real security and opportunity?
(a) The illusion of racial superiority.
(b) The possibility of climbing into the middle class.
(c) Dominance over political systems.
(d) False promises about economic growth.

3. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," Wilkerson says that when people vote, they often choose to vote in a way that will do what?
(a) Protect the best interests of their own highest-status trait.
(b) Empower a candidate who appeals to their worst instincts.
(c) Consider the needs of the many instead of the needs of the few.
(d) Show solidarity with those who share their lowest-status trait.

4. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," what term does Wilkerson introduce that refers to a white person explaining to a Black person something that the Black person has better credentials to understand?
(a) Bulldozing.
(b) Brahmin-splaining.
(c) Boundary-blindness.
(d) Whitesplaining.

5. What conclusion about people does Wilkerson come to in In "Chapter Nineteen: The Euphoria of Hate"?
(a) Most people have accurate beliefs about themselves and others.
(b) Ordinary people are easily seduced by evil.
(c) People tend to want to distance themselves from even fairly recent evil acts.
(d) Charismatic leaders are dangerous.

6. In the conference described in "Chapter Ten: Central Miscasting," what difficulty does Wilkerson face?
(a) Being stared at for sitting in front.
(b) Getting copies of the papers being presented.
(c) The scholars in attendance refuse to speak to her.
(d) The crowd is openly hostile to her presentation.

7. In "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," what is the purpose of including the story about Deandre Somerville's experience with jury duty?
(a) It is meant to show that Black and white Americans are not extended the same measure of "grace" by the justice system.
(b) It is meant to show that even Black children are harshly penalized by the justice system for minor offenses.
(c) It is meant to show that juries are still generally mostly white, even in the twenty-first century.
(d) It is meant to show that even inside the supposedly impartial world of jury deliberations Black Americans are treated with prejudice.

8. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," what does Wilkerson say about whites who take time to consider the Black perspective?
(a) They often refuse to act on their understanding.
(b) They are rare.
(c) They are important allies.
(d) They do not exist.

9. In "Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Price We Pay for a Caste System," what does Wilkerson blame for the relatively low quality of life in the United States?
(a) A two-tiered educational system.
(b) The cost of suppressing Black talent.
(c) Rivalry based in a caste system.
(d) Governmental dysfunction.

10. In "Chapter Fourteen: The Intrusion of Caste in Everyday Life," who follows and questions Wilkerson when she is in an airport?
(a) The Drug Enforcement Agency.
(b) The police.
(c) Two white people with no policing authority.
(d) Airport security.

11. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," what does Wilkerson say caused analysts to be taken by surprise by Trump's victory?
(a) They were too limited by their own perspective.
(b) They did not take the economic woes of the heartland seriously.
(c) They listened too much to overseas reactions to Trump.
(d) They failed to consider the impact of caste.

12. In "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," what does the Black bailiff do when the white killer of a Black man begins crying about her conviction?
(a) Shoves her as she is being escorted from the court.
(b) Comforts her by stroking her hair.
(c) Tells her to shut up and stop crying.
(d) Tells her that it will be okay and calls her "honey."

13. In "Chapter Ten: Central Miscasting," how many other people of African descent are at the London conference besides Wilkerson?
(a) The conference is primarily attended by Africans and African Americans.
(b) None.
(c) Dozens.
(d) One.

14. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," which group does Wilkerson say is the most susceptible to collective narcissism?
(a) Poor and marginalized whites.
(b) The white middle class.
(c) The white upper class.
(d) The white working class.

15. In "Chapter Thirteen: The Insecure Alpha and the Purpose of an Underdog," what lesson does Wilkerson want the reader to take away from her description of wolves?
(a) That there are "alpha" humans and they deserve the highest positions in society regardless of race.
(b) That it is wrong to create distinctions among people that imply that some people are better than others.
(c) That human rankings are based on arbitrary factors just as rankings are among wolves.
(d) That the "alpha" wolf is actually just one of the group's parents and does not necessarily have special leadership qualities.

Short Answer 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?

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," how many years does Wilkerson say separate the average life expectancy of White college graduates from that of Black college graduates?

3. In "Chapter Fifteen: The Urgent Necessity of a Bottom Rung," how did the incident at People's Grocery begin?

4. What fact does Wilkerson offer in "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste" to refute the common idea that economic insecurity cause people to vote for Trump?

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," Wilkerson says that the tarp-covered statue looks like "a giant chifforobe" (334). What is a "chifforobe"?

(see the answer keys)

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