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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The author puts forth the Nation of Islam's belief that the white man's rule will be ended in how much time in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) 50-60 years.
(b) 10-15 years.
(c) 100 years.
(d) 5-10 years.

2. 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.

3. For how long did the author remain on the pulpit as a Young Minister?
(a) About 2 years.
(b) Over 3 years.
(c) Less than 6 months.
(d) Less than a year.

4. Who founded the Nation of Islam?
(a) Malcolm X.
(b) Assata Shakur.
(c) James Whitney.
(d) Wallace D. Ford.

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

6. What word used by the author in "Down at the Cross" means relentless or unstoppable?
(a) Implacable.
(b) Cultivated.
(c) Advanced.
(d) Irredeemable.

7. In describing his dinner at Elijah Muhammad's home, the author states, "I began to see that Elijah's power came from his" what?
(a) "Ability to create a sense of calm."
(b) "Ambition."
(c) "Single-mindedness."
(d) "Articulation and sense of logic."

8. When did Rudyard Kipling live?
(a) 1798-1856.
(b) 1802-1880.
(c) 1899-1959.
(d) 1865-1936.

9. What does the author describe school revealing itself to be to the black community passing through adolescence in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) "A child's game that one could not win."
(b) "A segue into more fruitful endeavors."
(c) "A pursuit toward excellence."
(d) "A path to enlightenment."

10. As the author describes growing up in Harlem in "Down at the Cross," he says, "In the same way that the girls were destined to gain as much weight as their mothers, the boys, it was clear, would" what?
(a) "Leave home and never return."
(b) "Rise no higher than their fathers."
(c) "Become even lower than their fathers."
(d) "Fall even further from grace."

11. Who is quoted as having said "It is better to marry than to burn" in "Down at the Cross"?
(a) St. George.
(b) St. Peter.
(c) St. Paul.
(d) St. Andrew.

12. What word from "Down at the Cross" refers to people who engage in dishonest and fraudulent business dealings?
(a) Diffidents.
(b) Sheisters.
(c) Racketeers.
(d) Hucksters.

13. What word from "Down at the Cross" refers to a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument?
(a) Pedagogue.
(b) Antagonist.
(c) Protagonist.
(d) Demagogue.

14. What word from "Down at the Cross" means something continuing without pause or interruption?
(a) Petulant.
(b) Exuberant.
(c) Explicit.
(d) Incessant.

15. 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 uncle's execution.
(b) His father's lynching.
(c) His mother's lynching.
(d) His mother's rape.

Short Answer Questions

1. How late was the author when he arrived for dinner at Elijah Muhammad's home?

2. 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?

3. What does the word "assuage" from "Down at the Cross" mean?

4. After the confrontation at the bar, the author says that one of his companions, a Korean War veteran, said that the bar had been the white man's fight too. How did the white man respond?

5. What does the word "bulwark" mean in "Down at the Cross"?

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