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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did the man on the plane tell Rankine he misrepresented to her in his story about his hometown?
(a) There was more racism and racist behavior there than he let on.
(b) He was not from the hometown he said he was.
(c) He was actually from a poor family.
(d) He had actually witnessed police brutality against Blacks.

2. What word or phrase did Joyelle McSweeney define that Rankine includes in Part II?
(a) Fungeal.
(b) Necropastoral.
(c) Peripheral racism.
(d) Illusory racism.

3. What does a white male friend of Rankine's who was recently passed over for a job tell Rankine about it?
(a) He feels they offered him a lower salary because he is white.
(b) He feels as if he may never get another job again.
(c) He feels he would not have been good at the job anyway.
(d) He feels he was absorbing the problems of the world, meaning he was being punished for the sins of his forefathers.

4. What illness did Rankine suffer and recover from?
(a) Diabetes.
(b) Pancreatic cancer.
(c) A heart attack.
(d) Breast cancer.

5. What is the name for the pictures photographers used to use to gauge skin tone?
(a) White Cards.
(b) Black Cards.
(c) Shirley Cards.
(d) Paint Cards.

Short Answer Questions

1. What song did Rankine and one of her white male co-travelers in Part I both love?

2. What James Baldwin poem does Rankine excerpt in Part I?

3. Who is Rankine's favorite musical group?

4. What does the document Notes on the State of Virginia say that Blacks are much inferior to whites in?

5. What is the title of the class Rankine teaches on race at her university?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reason does one white man offer to Rankine as an explanation as to why his son did not get accepted through early decision to Yale University?

2. What is one major event in Rankine's life that she discusses in Part II as forcing her to reassess her life as a whole?

3. Why does Rankine undertake a series of casual conversations with white male travelers on airplanes?

4. What does Rankine worry about regarding the way many people - teachers included - seem to view Black children in general?

5. Why does Rankine think it might be best for just her white husband to attend her daughter's parent-teacher conference?

6. What is the name of the class Rankine eventually began teaching and continues to teach at Yale?

7. What does a white friend of Rankine's tell her about white people speaking amongst themselves about racism?

8. In Part II, why does a white friend of Rankine's tell her she has to defend Rankine to her own white friends?

9. What does Rankine describe Beyonce's album Lemonade as dealing with?

10. What does Rankine quote Malcolm X as saying about Black women in America?

(see the answer keys)

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