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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Section 3: "Part Three: The Eight Pillars of Caste".

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the opening anecdote of the book, what escapes from the melting permafrost?
(a) Anthrax.
(b) Mercury.
(c) SARS-CoV-2.
(d) Nuclear waste.

2. In "An American Untouchable," how does the high school principal in India refer to Martin Luther King'?
(a) As an "American Gandhi."
(b) As a "Negro."
(c) As an "untouchable."
(d) As a great leader.

3. According to "Pillar Number Four: Purity versus Pollution," what makes the United States's racial hierarchy different from those in the rest of the Americas?
(a) Privileges that increase with increasing "degree of Whiteness."
(b) The degree of segregation.
(c) Racial absolutism.
(d) The size of the highest caste.

4. In "The Vitals of History," what does Wilkerson compare an honest and rigorous study of history to?
(a) A child learning a new language.
(b) A doctor taking a patient history.
(c) A mechanic using a diagnostic computer.
(d) An archaeologist uncovering artifacts.

5. In "Through the Fog of Delhi to the Parallels in India and America," what is one of the main differences that Wilkerson notes between caste in America and caste in India?
(a) The American system is for the most part a binary one.
(b) The lowest caste in India was never enslaved.
(c) Blacks in America are not permanently confined to the lowest caste.
(d) There is no attempt being made in modern India to improve the situation of the lowest caste.

Short Answer Questions

1. What departure from legal precedent was made in the Virginia Assembly's decision that the children of enslaved women should also be considered slaves?

2. As Wilkerson explains on page 9, under what circumstances can mental health professionals make a diagnosis public?

3. What was decided at the conference depicted in the opening of "The Nazis and the Acceleration of Caste"?

4. In "Pillar Number Five: Occupational Hierarchy: The Jatis and the Mudsill," what is the rhetorical purpose of including information about Hammond's nieces?

5. In "Chapter Six: The Measure of Humanity," what reason does Wilkerson give for most people's participation in the American caste system?

(see the answer key)

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