Citizen Response Post

After reading Citizen: An American Lyric, I see this book as both a work of protest and  poetry. I think Rankine intended this to be read as a book of poetry, and through her unique writing style, her protest about racism is better understood. The book addresses the reader directly by saying “you.” Rankine is putting the reader in the situations she is describing, which I think is an effective way of allowing the reader to better identify with the racism she so poignantly describes. I found this particularly striking for myself, since I am Caucasian and have not experienced racism, as sad as that is to say. By using “you” to address the reader, I felt I could somewhat relate more to the reading and it was more personal, than if I was just reading it in the third-person. At first glance, it seems that “you” is assumed to be a black person, and the other pronouns like “he” and “she” are white people. However, I found as I continued to read that it was difficult to keep track at times whether or not “you” still was always presumed to be the black person.

This book is dispersed with various genres and visual elements. Rankine blended different writing styles, which were poetry, narrative, and visual imagery. The writing never remains as one style for very long, as she blends her poems, essays, and images together, creating a writing style I am not familiar with, though I found myself intrigued by. The set-up of this book was also interesting to me, as there were no table of contents to guide the reader. Rather, I felt like I was simply along for the ride, so to speak, without having a clear sense of what was next as I read through the seven chapters. A few of the chapters particular struck a chord with me. In the first chapter, Rankine begins the novel autobiographically by writing about microaggressions she has experienced. I found the most disturbing incident she describes to be on page 18, when she goes to visit a therapist, but she has not met the therapist in person yet. When she rings the doorbell, the therapist yells, “Get away from my house! What are you doing in my yard?” After realizing she has an appointment, she says, “Oh, yes, that’s right. I am sorry” (Rankine 18). The image on the following page shows an animal curled up with a distraught, sad look on its face, and after reading about this incident, I also feel sad and distraught because the therapist immediately jumped to conclusions and assumed this black person was coming to cause her harm. In the third chapter, Rankine describes racist language and instances of microaggressions that have happened nationally. On page 41, there is an image of the Rutgers women’s basketball team, and on the following page, she talked about “Don Imus and the women’s basketball teams he insulted with this language” (Rankine 42). The phrase she is referring to is “nappy-headed hos” and she also describes her own personal experience of being called a nappy-headed ho on page 41. In chapter 5, Rankine discusses the invisibility black people experience, and describes a man cutting “you” (black person) in line. The person is shocked to see they had cut someone and said, “Oh my God, I didn’t see you” and “No, no, no, I really didn’t see you” (Rankine 77). This situation illuminates the fact that being black sometimes makes you invisible to those who are not the same color. Though there were many other parts of the book that resonated with me, these three instances stuck out to me in particular.

I felt the cover photo for the book was particularly appropriate, as it brings to mind the death of Trayvon Martin, sinces he was wearing a hoodie when he was killed. Black men wearing hoodies are often seen as a threat, which can cause fear and anxiety for black people. This theme of the fear black people live in is interspersed throughout the book, and I felt this image sets the tone for the book. I like the way Rankine uses images at various points in the book because a picture may seem one way at first, but she guides you to reconsider the context of the picture and formulate your own opinion that is not tainted by racism.

A couple questions that were raised by this book for me were, what could I do to ensure I am not saying microaggressions in my everyday life that could possibly offend someone? After reading some of the incidents Rankine experienced, I realized how something seemingly small or insignificant could actually have more meaning to someone than I realize. This book also made me want to more intently study the particular images Rankine chose to put in the book, and delve deeper into their meaning instead of just looking at the surface interpretation. This book made me feel anger, sadness, and confusion, among other things, and I cannot wait to learn more about all Rankine has to offer that I am not seeing initially.