Name that Narrative
This narrative says that people who work hard will always succeed, regardless of their circumstances. What is it called?
The American Dream / meritocracy narrative
Name the author: Though she taught at elite institutions like Yale University and City College of New York, she spent her final academic years teaching at Berea College in Kentucky: a tuition-free college serving working-class Appalachian students that best aligned with her radical values. Her name is actually Gloria Jean Watkins but she goes by the pen name -
bell books
A group organizes a march outside City Hall to demand increased school funding. Is the march a strategy or a tactic?
Tactic
What is the name for drawing electoral district boundaries to give one political party an advantage?
gerrymandering
Name the DSA candidate that won their primary, running on a labor-organizing agenda, was a former artist, and holds dual indigenous citizenship
Claire Valdez; holds dual citizen of both the United States and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Nation.
This narrative frames public assistance as something that makes people dependent rather than addressing structural poverty. What is this framing called?
The welfare dependency narrative
Which Brazilian educator wrote Pedagogy of the Oppressed, a book about liberation through critical consciousness and education?
Paulo Freire
An organization decides to build a citywide coalition to win equitable school funding over the next three years. Is this a strategy or a tactic?
Strategy
What post-Reconstruction laws imposed poll taxes, literacy tests, and other barriers to voting, particularly targeting Black voters in the South?
Jim Crow voting laws
This former White House chief strategist wrote a hip-hop musical about the LA Riots, is the current executive chairman of Breitbart News became a prominent figure in right-wing populist politics. Who is he?
Steve Bannon
This narrative presents public education as a competition between families choosing individual schools rather than a shared public good. What is this framing called?
The school choice / consumer choice narrative
Which organizer and author wrote No Shortcuts, arguing that deep organizing and building collective power are central to working-class change?
Jane McAlevey
A group plans a phone-banking campaign to pressure elected officials before a budget vote. Is phone banking a strategy or a tactic?
Tactic
What was the name of the FBI program that secretly surveilled, infiltrated, and disrupted political organizations and movements during the 1950s–1970s?
COINTELPRO
This conservative media personality founded Turning Point USA, a youth organization that promotes conservative politics. Who is he?
Charlie Kirk
This narrative argues that government should operate like a business, prioritizing efficiency, competition, and market-based solutions. What is this framework called?
Market-based governance / neoliberalism
This book was a finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction. It received polarized reviews; progressives and many reviewers praised its ambitious institutional history, while conservative libertarians and free-market economists sharply criticized it, accusing the author of misinterpreting economic theory and distorting James M. Buchanan's record.
Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean
A coalition identifies a key decision-maker, maps their allies, and builds enough public pressure to change a policy. Is this a strategy or a tactic?
Strategy
What do we call government tax breaks offered to attract data centers and other businesses to a state or locality?
Tax incentives or tax abatements
She became the first Muslim woman elected to Congress, representing Michigan's 13th congressional district.
Rashida Tlaib
This narrative frames immigrants as threats to jobs, public resources, or national identity. What is this type of framing called?
The immigrant-as-threat narrative / nativist framing
Name the most recent book on James' reading list, and author(s), that made him switch from "best-case scenario framing" to "worst-case scenario framing"
Ends Times Fascism by Astra Taylor and Naomi Klein
A campaign's long-term goal is to win universal free school meals. Its team organizes a student-led rally, launches a petition, and schedules meetings with legislators. Identify the goal, the strategy, and two tactics.
Goal: Universal free school meals. Strategy: Build political pressure to secure legislation. Tactics: rally, petition, and legislative meetings.
Which U.S. presidents were most directly involved in escalating and conducting the Vietnam War. Name three of the four.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon
In 2025, this New York City politician became the Democratic nominee for mayor after defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary. What was his rap name before becoming NYC mayor?
Young Cardamom