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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The author states in "Down at the Cross," "I certainly could not discover any principled reason for not becoming a criminal, and it is not my poor, God-fearing parents who are to be indicted for the lack but" what?
(a) "The oppression of my people."
(b) "My intelligence."
(c) "This society."
(d) "My faith."

2. The author claims that we owe the ministry of Elijah Muhammad to the fact that he witnessed what when he was five or six years old?
(a) His mother's rape.
(b) His mother's lynching.
(c) His uncle's execution.
(d) His father's lynching.

3. What does the author describe feeling guilty about having in his pocket when he visited Elijah Muhammad in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) A tape recorder.
(b) A flask of whiskey.
(c) A notepad.
(d) Cigarettes.

4. What kind of athletic career does the author describe pursuing but not succeeding at in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) Prize-fighting.
(b) Basketball.
(c) Baseball.
(d) Football.

5. What qualities does the author claim Elijah Muhammad has invested in his followers in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) Caution and fear.
(b) Pride and serenity.
(c) Worry and doubt.
(d) Peace and humility.

6. What does the author say "catches up with kingdoms and crushes them" in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) "God."
(b) "Judgment."
(c) "Time."
(d) "Power."

7. Of the girls in Harlem going through adolescence, the author says in "Down at the Cross," "They understood that they must act as God's" what?
(a) "Decoys."
(b) "Watchmen."
(c) "Angels."
(d) "Love."

8. How late was the author when he arrived for dinner at Elijah Muhammad's home?
(a) 1 hour late.
(b) 15 minutes late.
(c) 45 minute late.
(d) 30 minutes late.

9. The author states in "Down at the Cross" that the "principles governing the rites and customs of the churches in which I grew up did not differ from the principles governing the rites and customs of other chuches, white. The principles were Blindness, Lonelines, and" what?
(a) "Sorrow."
(b) "Terror."
(c) "Faith."
(d) "Love."

10. The author writes in "Down at the Cross," "From my own point of view, the fact of the Third Reich alone makes obsolete forever any question of" what?
(a) "Black superiority."
(b) "Love."
(c) "White superiority."
(d) "Christian superiority."

11. Where does the author claim he was when a bartender refused to serve him and some friends in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) The Sam Houston Airport.
(b) The J.F.K. airport.
(c) The Chicago O'Hare airport.
(d) The La Guardia airport.

12. In "Down at the Cross," the author describes the adolescent changes that the girls undergo, saying that they no longer tease the boys but do what to them instead?
(a) Interrogate them.
(b) Step on them.
(c) Flirt with them.
(d) Reprimand them.

13. The author writes in "Down at the Cross," "It was absolutely clear that the police would whip you and take you in as long as" what?
(a) "They could get away with it."
(b) "You were guilty."
(c) "You were hiding something."
(d) "You were not one of them."

14. What color clothing does the author describe the women wearing at Elijah Muhammad's home in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) Red.
(b) Yellow.
(c) Green.
(d) White.

15. Where was the author going when he crossed Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and the policeman made a racial slur toward him in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) To his high school.
(b) To a Broadway performance.
(c) To the Institute.
(d) To the 42nd Street Library.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old was the author when he describes an encounter where a policeman made a racial slur as he passed in Manhattan in "Down at the Cross"?

2. On what day of the week does the author describe visiting Elijah Muhammad in "Down at the Cross"?

3. How does the author respond when asked by the female pastor, "Whose little boy are you?"

4. Who founded the Nation of Islam?

5. Whom does the author describe as having stated that "the cry of 'violence' was not raised... when the Israelis fought to regain Israel, and, indeed, is raised only when black men indicate that they will fight for their rights"?

(see the answer keys)

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