Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric is a group of essays, anecdotes, and images that analyze and depict racism and micro aggressions in American society. The book includes stories of both everyday citizens and famous people who find themselves in racist situations. Rankine’s book include stories written in second person, examples of Serena Williams, a famous female tennis player, and the deeper meaning behind one’s voice and body.
The book discusses racism, both discreet and blatant, faced by black people everyday. The book is broken into seven parts, each having different focuses and anecdotes, while maintaining the central idea of the types of racism black people face. She writes about the micro aggressions she has faced, along with her friends as well as public figures, showing that not only are ordinary people affected by these issues, but celebrities and public figures as well. Rankine acknowledges the fact that the cycle of racism persists because of a lack of recognition of the past. She highlights the importance of history and daily encounters by drawing the reader into these discussions and encounters and posing questions about race, racism, and identity directly to the reader.
The first section of the book combines numerous racially charged interactions into a single chapter. Stories and memories are told in second person point of view, ultimately allowing the reader to completely submerge themselves in the place of the narrator. The section begins as Rankine paints a picture of a black student in school. She allows a white student to look over her shoulder as they take a test, and they are never caught by their teacher. In a separate anecdote, the narrator is called by another black person’s name, and is presented with the choice to either ignore it or confront it. She decides to leave it, and the situation seems to figure itself out as the mistake is eventually corrected without acknowledgement. Similarly, further in the chapter, the police are called on the narrator’s friend as he walks around the house. When these are considered isolated incidents, they can be considered harmless. However, strung together, they form a narrative of a much larger and more serious problem. As the section continues, the instances are deemed negative. In the last story, for example, the narrator realizes that the circumstances she finds herself in are actually micro aggressions that are driven by racism. When the cops are called on the narrator’s friend later on in the chapter, she advises her friend to be weary and make phone calls in the backyard, to which he resists. The narrator then agrees. At this point, the narrator, or “you,” as Rankine writes, can no longer abide by the micro aggressions she faces, because she finally understands them.
The second section of Rankine’s book focuses primarily on the public view of the black body. She uses Serena Williams as an example for the angry and/or insane trope used against black people. When faced with unfair calls, umpires, and line judges, Williams reacted angrily and emotionally, the way any person would. However, her skin color made her anger, Black Anger, and her emotions, Black Emotions, prompting onlookers and her peers to persist in their racist and unnecessary comments. Similar to Serena Williams’ success in a predominately white sport, Zora Neale Hurston once said she felt most colored when “thrown against a sharp white background.” Continually, Williams’ body was also said to be in the way of an umpire who made several bad calls against her in one game, followed by a picture of a person bent over and covered completely in flowers. Hennessy Youngman, a popular YouTuber, goes on to note that black artists cannot create anything without it being related to slavery and past oppressions faced by black people. The forced connection then creates another dynamic between the viewer and the oppression, nearly completely cutting out the black artist. Here, Rankine depicts another example of the lack of empathy everyone seems to have for black people, and the ways they can be reacted to.
Rankine begins the fifth section with a description of the human body and its different functions; she writes about pulsating necks, hand movements, and blinks. As the chapter continues, the way bodies are described begins to become more complex and abstract; bodies that once had shifting hands and subconsciously blinking eyes is now given a blue light, and can be used as a flashlight. The narrator then contemplates their voice, a symbol for themselves as a whole. The black body is depicted as problematic, just as it was in Rankine’s earlier example of Serena Williams being mocked by her opponent, who stuffed clothes in her bra and bottom. This section incorporates the narratives of black people being openly disregarded in public, while also including a short story of the narrator being recognized for her blackness solely. This section of the book relates to the internal struggle of the black community of deciding to ignore or challenge race-based injustices, and whether their struggle should be seen or not.
Although Serena Williams has proved to be one of the best tennis players of today, she faces racism heavily. Rankine ends ends her book with the words, “It wasn’t a match. It was a lesson.” Matches can be won, and lessons cannot. The metaphor drawn by Rankine tells the story of persistence and endurance when it comes to racism. Overcoming one feat does not equate to the end of the “game.” There is no end, and people can only continue to fight, play, and overcome. Society’s constant ignorance and lack of recognition of its racist past only prove to create more racism, as it does not learn from itself and will continue to make the same mistakes.
The overall themes of the book connect to the theme of The Self and Others in Literature. Claudia Rankine’s Citizen delve into the way the modern black American is seen, both in their own eyes and through the eyes of others. Rankine writes that black people are often introduced to racially charged incidents and micro aggressions at a young age, and that these incidents will persist through their lives. Similarly, she writes that they are not exclusive to a certain kind of black person, as she writes about ordinary people and famous people, alike. Rankine writes, as a young girl in school who sits idly as a white girl cheats off of her, “You never really speak except for the time she makes her request and later when she tells you you smell good and have features more like a white person. You assume she thinks she is thanking you for letting her cheat and feels better cheating from an almost white person.” The first micro aggression of the book start with a young girl, showing that racism knows no age, and that the journey of an American black person is that of a long and hard one. The younger white girl who finds herself dependent on someone she views as inferior, feeds the black girl a negative compliment that only ultimately serves herself. The second part of Citizen shows that a black person’s body is never exclusively their own, and are always commented on and scrutinized. She uses Serena Williams as an example, and highlights one’s choice to take on racism head on or to ignore it. Rankine writes, “And though you felt outrage for Serena after that 2004 US Open, as the years go by, she seems to put Alves, and a lengthening list of other curious calls and oversights, against both her and her sister, behind her as they happen.” Here, she notes that Serena Williams was able to put the racism she faced at the game behind her, and move forward. Though there is always choice, there are detriments to confronting racism, just as there are detriments for ignoring it. Whether a person ignores or confronts their situation, Rankine and the reader know that the cycle will continue, and the black body and soul will never be able to stand on its own, free of outside judgement and racist comments. Rankine’s second to last section discusses the struggles of being seen. She writes, “Oh my God, I didn’t see you. You must be in a hurry, you offer. No, no, no, I really didn’t see you.” While most people fear not being understood and accepted, the narrator’s fears are taken a step further when she is completely disregarded and invisible.
Claudia Rankine’s Citizen examines the micro aggressions black people find themselves face to face with daily. She uses personal anecdotes that allow the reader to put themselves in the narrator’s shoes, examples of ordinary and famous people, and the human body itself to carefully illustrate the narrative of a black person. Black people, as written by Rankine and as they are in society, are rarely given the opportunity to be the people they are.
