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

Multiple Choice 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?
(a) Demographic shifts.
(b) Economic problems.
(c) Illegal immigration.
(d) A rise in evangelicalism.

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Four: Cortisol, Telomeres, and the Lethality of Caste," what are the "telomeres" Wilkerson talks about?
(a) The cell sites that respond to chemicals like cortisol.
(b) Diseases related to stress.
(c) A part of the DNA strand that shortens with aging.
(d) Stress hormones.

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

4. In "Chapter Fifteen: The Urgent Necessity of a Bottom Rung," how did the incident at People's Grocery begin?
(a) With an argument between two children.
(b) When a Black man did not show enough deference to a white bus driver.
(c) When a Black man tried to vote.
(d) When a Black soldier arrived in uniform.

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," what peaceful demonstrator is deliberately run over and killed in Charlottesville, Virginia?
(a) Mitch Landrieu.
(b) Wesley Norris.
(c) Heather Heyer.
(d) Nigel Dunkley.

6. 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."

7. 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) Whitesplaining.
(c) Brahmin-splaining.
(d) Boundary-blindness.

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

9. 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) Automatic bias.
(b) Subconscious bias.
(c) Unconscious bias.
(d) Autonomic bias.

10. In "Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Symbols of Caste," about how many Confederate monuments does Wilkerson say exist in the modern United States?
(a) 130.
(b) 1,700.
(c) 300.
(d) 700.

11. In "Chapter Twelve: A Scapegoat to Bear the Sins of the World," what does Wilkerson say Austin police initially said about the bomb-related death of Stephan House?
(a) That House was the probable suspect in a string of bombings.
(b) It might be drug-related, or House might have accidentally blown himself up.
(c) That it was likely a hate crime.
(d) That it was probably the work of a serial bomber.

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) Modern scapegoats are not literally sacrificed.
(b) Modern scapegoats are also blamed for the problems they are made to suffer for.
(c) Scapegoating is now primarily subconscious.
(d) Scapegoating is now performed by whole communities.

13. In "Chapter Twenty: The Inevitable Narcissism of Caste," what does Wilkerson say is the cause of phenomena like an Iranian immigrant feeling moved to point out the existence of a blond-haired child somewhere in the family?
(a) Each caste wants to stress its proximity to the dominant caste.
(b) Immigrants often arrive from countries with systemic racism of their own.
(c) Each caste is trying to distance itself from the lowest caste.
(d) Immigrants know that this is what white people want to hear.

14. In "Chapter Twenty-Eight: Democracy on the Ballot," what term does Wilkerson introduce for the period between Reconstruction and WWII?
(a) Jim Crow.
(b) The Nadir.
(c) The Long Shadow.
(d) The Segregation Era.

15. 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) White business owners.
(b) Older Americans.
(c) White evangelicals.
(d) The wealthiest ten percent of voters.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Chapter Fifteen: The Urgent Necessity of a Bottom Rung," what is the story of Burton Holmes and Freddie Stowers meant to illustrate?

2. In "Chapter Twenty-Six: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste," Wilkerson says that Clinton might have suffered from the "Bradley Effect." What does this mean?

3. 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?

4. In "Chapter Twenty-Five: A Change in the Script," whom does Wilkerson quote as saying that there was nothing more important than making sure that Obama did not win a second election?

5. In "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Stockholm Syndrome and the Survival of the Subordinate Class," when Devonte Hart and his foster siblings begged for food, what did their white guardians tell people?

(see the answer keys)

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