Claudia Rankine's Citizen

She challenges both antiracist and feminist theories since they fail and neglect to focus on the issue of intersection of gender and race. The theories are inadequate and cannot address the oppression experienced by the black women. White women, especially from the middle class are treated as emotional and delicate compared to men with special need for protection according to the feminist theorists. However, the situation is worse among the black women since they are subjected to racist abuses that are common in the society (Beauvoir 2). This implies they are more delicate than the white women with a need for more protection. On the contrary, black women are seen as “mules” and are expected to perform heavy cleaning chores of the fact that they are fragile and passive. Crenshaw argues that black women are forced to look for jobs instead of taking care for their children. They are pressured to use depo provera, norplant and other family planning drugs that are common with white women. This is an illustration of intersectionality of race, gender and

Although the text, Women: Images and Realities a Multicultural Anthology, has done a wonderful job of showcasing the diversity of women’s experiences, I find Beverly Daniel Tatum’s work “Defining Racism: “Can We Talk?”” to be the most striking. In the essay, Tatum describes how she (and many other feminists) define racism and who can and cannot be racist. Tatum argues that there are important distinctions between prejudice and racism, wherein racism is defined as a ‘system of advantage based on race” or more precisely “prejudice plus power” (388). Through multiple examples Tatum illustrates that if one accepts and uses her definition of racism then only White people (the group of people who ‘dominate’ society) are racist because “people of

Citizen, written by Claudia Rankine in 2014, narrates testimonies of systematic racism and every day micro aggressions through poems, essays, scripts and images. Rankine documents the racist encounters through the second person point of view for the reader to feel and understand the effects racism has on the body and mind. This paper will examine hypervisibility and invisibility of the black body embedded in the novel because of decades of racism. Rankine emphasizes the sensory emotions and feelings of the black body as a response to America’s reluctance to recognize and empathize with black men and women.

Rankine’s essay concentrates on the idea that racism affects the perception of Serena’s excellence as the world’s best female tennis player. Toward the beginning of the essay, Rankine states “…the legendary Chris Evert, who herself has called you a ‘phenomenon that once every one hundred years comes around.’ Imagine that you’re the player John McEnroe recently described as ‘the greatest player, I think, that ever lived.” Rankine goes on to say, “Imagine that you have to contend with critiques of your body that perpetuate racist notions that black women are hyper masculine and unattractive”. These quotes, rooted toward the beginning of the essay, easily suggest the idea that Serena’s excellence cannot be discussed without the addition of the racist notions she so often encounters. This statement clearly reflects the lesson in which Serena’s father, Richard Williams, attempted to teach

Whiteness and racism comes from the oppression, colonization and systems of dominance over black people and their feelings. In this case, an intersectional feminist analysis matters because women who are able bodied, cis-gendered, privileged and white are only being considered whereas bell hooks argue that men, women and trans people who oppressed should be fought for. And Peggy McIntosh adds onto this but a white woman who addresses and recognizes her privilege to help other white individuals understand what they have and blacks do not.

When one thinks of a “citizen”, they often imagine the process of gaining the title of becoming a citizen within a country. But often times people do not think of “citizen” or “citizenship” to be connected to race. In Claudia Rankine’s book “Citizen”, she takes time to discuss and display specific moments that have happened in the lives of African Americans who live in the United States. By doing so, she is investigating in depth of what it means to be a Black American “citizen” today in society. These stories, although reflecting upon minuscule moments, paint a large picture of the true reality of racism in America very prevalent today. In context to Rankine’s Citizen and other supporting documents such as Keywords: “Citizenship”, White Like Me and Cops See it Differently it can be proven that racial bias deprives full Black American citizens of “citizenship” within everyday society.

Racism is a big issue in today’s world. It has become something that cause violence and conflict. The aggressive nature of racism is consuming the equal rights for what humanity is supposed to be. It is a problem that an extensive amount of people are dealing with all over the world. Racial bias has been around for quite sometime now, and it only seems to be progressing into something that one simply cannot comprehend. In the short story “Sonny’s Blues,” the author, James Baldwin, emphasizes on the lasting effect of racism throughout the story. Baldwin vaguely expresses the impact of racial bias on the character Sonny. The audience has to infer the reasoning behind what the author is trying to convey. In the story, racism is a significant

Without a doubt, we look at athletes today and from the past as if they are larger than life individuals. They show their personality through talent no matter what they play; some are better than others, for example some can kick or throw. However, at the end of the day they all have a different voice and a different story. People expect them to turn a blind eye to everyday events because of their status. People think of athletes as celebrities, they say they do not go through the same struggles as everyday people. That statement is far from the truth when it pertains to the issue of racism. Racism has been an unresolved problem for years whether it is in sports or athletes speaking for what they believe. Racism has had a big impact on sports such as Germany hosting the olympics and cheating, N.B.A. owners thinking they rule over their players, and the hidden discrimination that happens in locker rooms. Many times athletes have stood up for what they believed just to be shot down. Nowhere in their contracts does it state that because they are professionals that they must compromise their freedom of speech. Whether it be refusing to meet with the president, speaking out on racial injustices, or not standing for the national anthem, athletes have a strong voice in the fight against discrimination and other traumatic events. The fight for equality in sports and throughout America is a process that includes multiple organizations, the reaction of authority figures, and

For nearly twenty years, Beyoncé has lived her life in the public eye yet she has always kept her cool, been submissive, and rather quiet when it came to her personal endeavors however after releasing the film “Lemonade”, we are able to see her in a vulnerable light. In Jeremy Helliger’s article: “Dear Beyhive: Stop Whining. Beyoncé Still Hasn’t Earned Her Album Of The Year Grammy” he addresses the idea that although Beyoncé was able to encourage black women to be proud and free, she also she missed the mark by adding raunchy, over the top content to her vulnerability.

Throughout the novel it is apparent that everyday instances of racism occur, causing people of color to feel outcasted. There are two very obvious occasions where this happened. In the first instance two African American woman are in a workspace of primarily all white co-workers. When a woman they worked with got these two names mixed up, it was stated that she had a “fifty-fifty chance of getting it right” insinuating that these two women are the only black ones working here. Later, the woman who had the mix-up with the names wrote an apology note; however, in the note she stated it was “our mistake” and seemingly put part of the blame on the to women. This is a primary example of how African Americans can be thrown against a white background making them seem different than everyone else.

Each encounter describes acts of dehumanization in ordinary places like grocery store, doctors office, or on tennis court. In some instances, these statements or acts made by others are unintentional or just plain ignorant. For instance, Rankine matter of factly describes the harsh criticism towards famous tennis pro Serena Williams during her tennis match. Her frustration towards the ref was due to bad calls against her that resulted in her losing an important game. You may ask why is this important? It’s important because of one simple word that always seems the be of subject matter and that is race. Everyone in the stadium knew the calls were bad “though no one was saying anything explicitly about Serena’s black body, you are not the only viewer who thought it was getting in the way of Alves’s sight line” (27). The term race has been engraved into the minds of people and giving it definition and meaning when in reality it doesn’t. All people are part of on race being the human race, however the shape it's been given is to divide us by use of its context. To ignore the subject matter of race would be to agree that it’s normative behavior in our society. The Civil Rights Movement has taught people how far we have come from matters of race but that we also have a long way to go. People should learn to come together

Racism is an evolving problem that we have face in our society for generations. This issue is evolving because it opens itself to all components of life. Sport is no stranger to involvement with racism, in fact it has been a platform which sparks change or intensifies the state of racism in society. Racism refers to the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races (Oxford Dictionary). Historically racism is an ideology systematically developed as the Europeans made their journey to the New World to explore and colonized the globe and the differences in it. This Great expedition was the excuse used to justify colonialism, slavery and genocide. This racial ideology has manifested itself in to the sports world in creating the modern-day apartheid which resides in the form of the black athlete in the major conferences of the NCAA. In this paper, I will be breaking down: the systemic institution of the NCAA, the generational racism the black athlete faces and the intuitional racism faced on campus to prove the existence of modern day apartheid.

Claudia Rankine analyze racism to its core, bringing to surface that miniscule event are just as problematic as televised one. Her words are beautifully brutal, striking up emotions for anyone that reads it. As readers we are taken through a journey from past to present events of racial incidents experienced by different genders and ages. Above all, Claudia provides a strong indication that racism is far from over.

Citizen, is a book by the author Claudia Rankine, who was born in Jamaica, and then immigrated to the US at a young age. After seemingly absorbing and understanding the culture of America, she writes the book Citizen, to not only define violence, but as a voice to black individuals on the racism and violence they face daily. The book does a very good job of putting the reader in the shoes of a black individual in America, without not making it believable. The book has its own style, which is used to show the violence that blacks face daily. This book was the perfect addition to the course in the sense it unwittingly attempts to answer the question, “How does it feel to be a problem?”.

In addition, athletes in the past have been a positive role model for athletes and young people, today. Just like President Barack Obama recently said about Tommie Smith and John Carlos holding black fists up during the award ceremony, “What Tommie Smith and John Carlos did may have been controversial at the time, but it created opportunity for future generations.” This means that the athletes, in the past, that spoke out against their disbeliefs, set an example for present athletes, and how to get their point across, but at the same time being a role model for young people. Furthermore, since athletes are already on a bigger stage, when they speak out, they are allowing us, as a nation, to see our flaws, so we can unite together and change it. When Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem, it was part of the Black Lives Matter movement, and it helped our nation come together to find a solution. By doing this, our