In the book Citizen by Claudia Rankine, she shares her experiences as a woman of color in society. The stories Rankine shares in chapter one highlights her experiences with microaggressions and how these incidents create a feeling of invisibility.
The book opens with a story from when she was a kid and was helping the girl behind her cheat on tests. Rankine says, “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” (Rankine 5). This is the first time we are introduced to the character as not white. She goes on to discuss how she was never caught helping the girl cheat, possibly because the nun did not even see her sitting there. Rankine was clearly a young kid at the time and from a young age was having to wonder whether the teacher knows she is there or not. She was worried about being caught, but also confused as to why the teacher never said anything about the cheating; even when she thought it was obvious. The teacher’s failure to acknowledge her could easily damage how she views herself. It could also make her feel like she is not seen like the other kids in class, just like the study we looked over in class on how minority voices are often silenced in classroom settings. In this case, not only is she helping another girl, but in return, the “compliment” received from her was erasing her identity and make her feel like her only valuable qualities were her “white” features. Although disguised as a compliment, the negative assumption was there. Especially at a young age, it can be very damaging for a little girl to be led to believe she is pretty if she looks white. It is also presumably her first experience with racism which sets up the rest of the book and its stories.
Another incident she shares is with a friend. She opens the story by explaining her physical reaction to the comment. Then, we learned how this friend “messed up” speaking when Rankine says, “Haven’t you said this to a close friend who early in your friendship, when distracted, would call you by the name of her black housekeeper?” (Rankine 7). Her friend would mix her up with her black housekeeper and assumes it is because they are the only two black people the girl knows. It seems like it gave her a feeling of invisibility, feeling like she is being grouped by race and not looked at as an individual person, but as just another black person. It is not exactly specified what age this occurred at. Though she lets this moment slide in time, it still lingers in her memory since.
Later in the book, Rankine references how a friend compared people having a “historical self” which is your background and where you come from, and a “self self” which is who you are as an individual with likes and interests. Usually, people with similar interests turn out as friends, but can have different views when it comes to being black or white in America. In the two instances from the book shared, both individuals that made comments were not apparently trying to hurt her feelings but did so because of their lack of understanding about race and the world. They were unaware that their “historical self” was peeking through their “self self” and because of this they may not have realized their actions were demeaning to Rankine and her place as a black woman. Rankine goes on to share more experiences with microaggressions and shares her frustrations through these quick stories. For most of the stories, she finds herself unable to speak up for herself because nobody directly made a racist comment toward her, but the comments can assume a racial undertone. By putting us in her shoes and telling the story as if we are on the receiving end of the comments, we can better understand how microaggressions can damage someone’s sense of self. Rankine also touches on John Henryism which is a term used to refer to the response people of color experience when dealing with racism and trying to compensate by working harder. She attempts to stop the trend by not saying anything or speaking up.
Ultimately, Rankine shared these experiences in attempt to put the world in the shoes of a woman of color who frequently experiences microaggressions. Her experiences highlight how people’s comments were trying to damage her identity and made her feel invisible. Even from a young age, she had to question if she was being seen and determine whether or not to stand up for herself. My two discussion questions are:
- Why do you think the title of the book is Citizen?
- What did you think of the artwork in the book?
Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric. Graywolf Press, 2014.
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Audrey, your blog post did a great job expressing everything that I was also thinking while reading this chapter. I like how you pointed out how people were saying racist comments to her, but they were only subtle comments that they did not even realize were racist. Due to the way Rankine wrote about these situations, I could immediately see the backhanded racist comments from white people and felt frustrated for her. I think the artwork in this book was a great addition. The one picture that stood out to me the most was the second picture of the animal with a human-like face. That picture was a great representation of how racist white people viewed people of color. For example, her therapist could talk to her perfectly fine on the phone because she could not see the patient’s skin color. However, when her patient followed all of the therapist’s instructions and showed up for her appointment at the back door like every other white person, it was an issue. The therapist yelled, “Get away from my house! What are you doing in my yard?” (Rankine 18). This is something you would say to a scary looking lost dog that you found in your yard, not one of your patients that is coming to you to seek counseling. The picture of the animal with a human face is a great representation of how that therapist made Rankine feel.
I really like how you used the term microagression to describe the experiences the writer was expressing. I agree with you that these incidents made the author feel invisible as she used the word “erasure” in the description of John Henryism. “They achieve themselves to death trying to dodge the buildup of erasure” (Rankine 11). This feeling of invisibility was well documented throughout your blog. I think the book is called Citizen because it is a blanket term that applies to everyone, however it is almost sarcastic in a sense because yes she is a citizen but these stories would make you think otherwise. She doesn’t fit in with all of the citizens because there are differences she is black and not white. While I agree with you about her experiences making her feel invisible. I disagree when you say in your blog, “She attempts to stop the trend by not saying anything or speaking up”. I think in my own opinion, that she does speak up for example when she tells the story of the man at Starbucks she says, “They are just being kids. Come on, no need to get all KKK on them, you say” (Rakine 16). This shows she is speaking up, and then she says, “There I go?” She says this last part in a mocking tone. I think instead of saying she is not standing up, I would say she is having an internal struggle, about how she should react to the microaggressions. When does she feel the need to stand up? When does she feel the need to just let it slide? I agree she does not want to participate in John Henryism. I also like how you said in your conclusion she had to, “determine whether or not to stand up for herself”. I think this supports that she was willing to stand up as well.
Hi Audrey, I enjoyed reading your blog comment on the first chapter of “Citizen” by Claudia Rankine and wanted to answer your second discussion question relating to the interesting artwork throughout this American lyric. After reading the picture that stood out most to me was the one on page 6 which looks like a nice, quiet, suburban town but the spin that Rankine included was that the only street sign you can read on the road says “Jim Crow RD”. I thought this picture was purposely put on this page to reference the last section of writing which dealt with two girls who were “almost white” and went to a catholic school together and one would cheat off the other. The two girls helped each other and had no problems with Sister Evelyn (teacher) because she never noticed them which is inquired because of their skin color. This picture captures a white suburban-looking area but adding the specific street name emphasizes how people are forced to live in different neighborhoods because of their culture or skin color.
Hey Audrey. Great stuff here. I really like how you emphasized these “tiny” micro aggressions. To the outside eye it seems like nothing, but to the person experiencing them, it is completely different. Micro aggressions continue to happen in our society today. “You assume she is thank you for letting her cheat and feels better cheating from an almost white person.” (Rankine, 1) In the literal first page we hear personal stories of micro aggressions towards the author. But to answer your first question of Why do I think it’s called Citizen? I think the novel is titled citizen because the author has felt so ostracized her whole life because the way she looks. In reality, she is meant to be a citizen, but because of her never ending cycle of micro aggressions and racist encounters, she permanently feels out of the loop. She knows as if she is supposed to be a citizen, but nothing from her personal life leads her to think that. Past acts have made her felt essentially invisible, and because of that she sees herself as invisible and not a citizen.
Hi Audrey, I really enjoyed your blog post and how it addresses the idea of feeling invisible due to a certain circumstance. In this case the main character feels invisible due to her race. The idea of her not being caught cheating is significant because she did it so often and it was overlooked because she felt as though she wasn’t even seen or cared for. Considering the narrator felt as though she was being used and only seen to aid in the white girls requests for test answers, I feel as though she almost wanted to get caught so she could finally feel seen. She possibly felt like it was the only way she could feel less invisible. I agree with the statement about how the narrators classmate failed to compliment her on anything not in relation to her “white” features. To answer your second question about the artwork in the book, I believe each piece of artwork was added to create various perspectives. I think the author made it so each picture was open to interpretation to the readers considering everyone has a different background and opinion. I think one piece of artwork that is significant is the picture of the Jim Crow Road street sign. (Rankine page 6.) I feel this definitely sheds light on how the narrator felt. Like she was still living in the Jim Crow time period.
Really enjoyable post to rad, and to answer your first question, The title “citizen” can be construed in several ways. To begin with, the label “Citizen” highlights the concept of belonging and the belief that all persons, regardless of race, should be acknowledged and treated as complete citizens within society. This is shown through how systematic racism and microaggressions may erode that sense of belonging and is expressed in the quote, “Then the voice in your head silently tells you to take your foot off your throat because just getting along shouldn’t be an ambition.”(My online Version doesn’t have pages or table of contents) This says that you shouldn’t want to just survive in the place you are when that place is supposed to be a community, you should have higher and more pure dreams to keep you going. Furthermore, the term “citizen” can refer to the expectations and duties put on those who are citizens of a nation. Rankine’s work investigates how these expectations change for Black people, who frequently encounter racial profiling, discrimination, and marginalization, undermining their feeling of full citizenship within a shared community. And when it comes to the artwork of “Citizen,” Rankine uses visual components alongside her poetic language to improve the reading experience and further explain her concepts. The artwork, which includes images, captions, and collages, acts as a visual depiction of the text, evoking emotions and prompting more thought on the subjects addressed in the book.