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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," Wilkerson mentions the "Lost Cause." What does this term refer to?
(a) The attempt to use Reconstruction to alter not only the legal position of Blacks in the South but their social status as well.
(b) A factually incorrect ideology that says that the Civil War was not fought over slavery but "states' rights" and that in any case slavery was not such a bad thing.
(c) An alternative perspective regarding the contribution of enslaved Blacks to the economy of the South.
(d) The desire of modern progressives to base governance on science and humanism.

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," what Lyndon Johnson prediction about Southern voters does Wilkerson relate?
(a) They would elect politicians who promised to suppress the Black vote.
(b) They would become the most loyal base of the Democratic party.
(c) They would be led by a White evangelical voting bloc.
(d) They would stop voting for Democrats after Democrats supported Civil Rights legislation.

3. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," whom does Wilkerson name as the most loyal voters of the Republican Party?
(a) Older Americans.
(b) The wealthiest ten percent of voters.
(c) White evangelicals.
(d) White business owners.

4. What does Tushar, from the London conference in "Chapter Ten: Central Miscasting," say caused him to question the caste system?
(a) The treatment his father received by members of the highest caste.
(b) The disparity in privilege he witnessed in India.
(c) His own status as a Dalit.
(d) His Hindu faith.

5. In "Chapter Eleven: Dominant Group Status Threat and the Precarity of the Highest Rung," what does Wilkerson reveal about the New Deal and the Federal Housing Administration?
(a) Black Americans used these programs as their first "leg up" toward the middle class.
(b) They were created to help white Americans, and Blacks were largely excluded from their assistance.
(c) White American opposed them initially because they were afraid the aid would go to Blacks.
(d) Although intended to help primarily Black Americans, these programs have largely served whites.

6. 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 juries are still generally mostly white, even in the twenty-first century.
(b) It is meant to show that Black and white Americans are not extended the same measure of "grace" by the justice system.
(c) It is meant to show that even inside the supposedly impartial world of jury deliberations Black Americans are treated with prejudice.
(d) It is meant to show that even Black children are harshly penalized by the justice system for minor offenses.

7. 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?
(a) Autonomic bias.
(b) Automatic bias.
(c) Unconscious bias.
(d) Subconscious bias.

8. In "Chapter Twenty-Three: Shock Troops on the Borders of Hierarchy," what are the Black women on the wine train ejected from the train for?
(a) Insisting that they be served before the other passengers.
(b) Endangering themselves and others by drinking excessively.
(c) Causing a disturbance by laughing and talking.
(d) Delaying the train by boarding too slowly.

9. In "Chapter Twelve: A Scapegoat to Bear the Sins of the World," what does Wilkerson imply is true about the American response to the 2013 Ebola outbreak?
(a) That Americans did not care as long as it was confined to primarily Black communities.
(b) That American aid was designed to confine the disease to Africa.
(c) That Americans withheld antiviral treatment from Africans.
(d) That it only became a priority once Americans became sick.

10. In "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," what does Wilkerson reveal about Indian castes in America?
(a) Dalits are often falsely accused of crimes in America, just as they are in India.
(b) The caste system has little or no power in the lives of Indians in America.
(c) Caste continues to affect people even after they immigrate.
(d) Their need to flee the caste system is why so many Indian immigrants to America are Dalits.

11. In "Chapter Thirteen: The Insecure Alpha and the Purpose of an Underdog," what does Wilkerson's dog trainer tell her she is behaving like?
(a) A subordinate wolf.
(b) A child.
(c) An "insecure alpha."
(d) A "lone wolf."

12. In "Chapter Twelve: A Scapegoat to Bear the Sins of the World," what change in the concept of the scapegoat does Wilkerson say has occurred over time?
(a) Scapegoating is now primarily subconscious.
(b) Modern scapegoats are also blamed for the problems they are made to suffer for.
(c) Modern scapegoats are not literally sacrificed.
(d) Scapegoating is now performed by whole communities.

13. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," what error of John McCain's does Wilkerson say contributed to Obama's victory?
(a) His involvement in the 2008 financial crisis.
(b) He refusal to discuss his war record.
(c) His choice of a vice-presidential candidate.
(d) His open appeals to Black and Mexican voters.

14. 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?
(a) 8.
(b) 10.
(c) 2.
(d) 4.

15. On page 287 of "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," what does Wilkerson blame on "the latitude granted these white saviors...[and] the collective desire to solve tribal wounds with superficial gestures of grace from the wounded"?
(a) The 2015 Charleston church massacre.
(b) The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson.
(c) The light sentence given to the white officer who shot a man who was just watching TV in his own apartment.
(d) The failure of society to see the truth of Devonte Hart's situation.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. 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?

3. On page 287 of "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," what does Roxanne Gay say causes whites to "embrace narratives about forgiveness"?

4. In "Chapter Thirteen: The Insecure Alpha and the Purpose of an Underdog," what is Wilkerson arguing about the role of the "omega" wolf, at the bottom of the pack hierarchy?

5. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," whose work on collective narcissism does Wilkerson discuss?

(see the answer keys)

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