Citizen, by Claudia Rankine focuses on being a woman of color through the author’s personal experiences and through the author’s eyes. Throughout this lyric, the author speaks about different accounts of when people of color were treated differently as well as her personal accounts when she was treated differently. She uses the second-person pronoun, you, to keep the main protagonist nameless. This draws us in as readers and brings us to be a part of the story. This protagonist is presumably black. We assume this because the lyric brings together stories, poems, and photographs to show the struggle of being a person of color. Rankine brings up society, also known as the “world” in many forms in her lyric.
One example she uses to show how society or the “world” believes people should think is through memories. Society believes that we should not remember the past and that we should just move on. Rankine states, “ You like to think memory goes far back though remembering was never recommended. Forget all that, the world says. The world’s had a lot of practice” (Rankine 61). Rankine is saying that society believes that we should not remember the past and that we should only hold onto some memories. These memories should be happy and not be the bad things that happened in the past. One of the bad things that has happened in the past and present that the world does not want to be remembered is the treatment of people of color. Another example of how she shows that society believes people should think is through metaphors. The main metaphor Rankine uses is that “the past is a life sentence, a blunt instrument aimed at tomorrow” (Rankine 72). She uses this metaphor to show that society believes that the past can take control of people’s lives if dwelled upon for too long. She also says that if you “drag that first person out of the social death of history” then you are family (Rankine 72). This goes to show that society believes that the people should not look back at the past and just continue onto the future. This way society can put the past behind them in hopes that others will not bring up some of the horrible things that have happened in the past. Society or the world is telling you to “move on. Let it go. Come on” (Rankine 66). Society, also known as the “world,” is telling the people of color to move on from what happened in the past as if it is not relevant in today’s life.
The world is wrong. Society is wrong. People should not just “move on” from the past (Rankine 66). People of color and all people in general should fight to change this injustice that has happened in the past and still is happening today. Rankine is saying in her lyric that people need to remember the past and the memories in order to help the future and in order to help people thrive. You may notice the movements that went down in history and still are happening today. Both the Black Lives Matter Movement and the Women’s Rights Movement shows that these issues are still around today. Rankine says as an example, “you wait at the bar of the restaurant for a friend, and a man, wanting to make conversation, nursing something, takes out his phone to show you a picture of his wife. You say, bridge that she is, that she is beautiful. She is, he says, beautiful and black like you” (Rankine 78). This goes to show that people are still seeing other people for the color of their skin. It may not be deemed racist or wrong in many people’s eyes, but it is still very apparent in everyday life. These encounters affect people of color throughout their everyday life to this present day. Rankine continues with that example, “Appetite won’t attach you to anything no matter how depleted you feel… you do go to the gym and run in place, an entire hour running, just you and your body running off each undesired desired encounter” (Rankine 79). People of color who have these unsavory encounters will continue on with their day as usual, but these encounters can easily taint their every move. This concluding memory that Rankine uses exemplifies how people of color feel when encounters that make them feel different happen.
Discussion Questions:
- In the example on page 77, is Rankine’s main protagonist right for giving the person the benefit of the doubt? Why or why not? If you were in Rankine’s main protagonist’s position, what would you have done? Why?
- Do you believe that people should forget about the past or should the past be brought up in present times? Why or why not? If you were in society’s position, would you want your mistakes to be brought up in the present to help the future? Why or why not?
Works Cited:
Rankine, Claudia, 1963-author. Citizen : An American Lyric. Minneapolis, Minnesota : Graywolf Press, 2014.
Hey there Brianna great job on your post! One specific portion of your article that I found to be interesting was that you correlated the word “world” to “society” in Rankine’s writing which allowed me to connect her overarching theme on a more tangible level in an intriguing manner. In response to your question on whether the past should be brought up, I believe that it is imperative to bring the past up in the present. One reason I think this is because Rankine voices that, “To your mind, feelings are what create a person, something unwilling, something wild vandalizing whatever the skull holds” (61). In this sentence, I see the author relaying that without the knowledge of the past, people would not be humanized and feel proper emotions. As the past goes farther into the distance, without reminders that teach valuable lessons, whether it be history, science, or other areas, mistakes of the past would be perpetually repeated. If I was at the lead of society I would want my mistakes to be brought up because if my actions warrant being unveiled to society as wrong, then it is only right to own up to my mistakes and educate the public to prevent this issue from happening again.
Great job, Jenna! Your comment also makes me think of the ways the past continues to structure the present, whether we’d like it to or not. For instance, we talked about how racist redlining practices of the mid 20th century created the segregated cities and unequal access to resources that exist today.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Brianna, I really enjoyed reading your post! I like how you wrote about both Rankine’s and societies views of the past. It was important to point out how society wants to move on from the past, but this is wrong. In response to your second question, I believe that the past should be brought up in the present times. People need to become educated on the injustices that people of color had to and continue to face to this day. Rankine states “the world is wrong. You can’t put the past behind you. It’s buried in you; it’s turned your flesh into its own cupboard” (Rankine 63). In this example, Rankine uses a metaphor to convey how much pain people of color carry with them. A cupboard carries many things similar to these individuals carrying all the traumatic past encounters with them. It is impossible to forget the past when the body will always remember these racist experiences. The past is “buried” within them and cannot be forgotten. Bringing up the past can help educate others to work together to fight racism. Regarding the second part of your question, If I made mistakes, I would want them to be brought up to help the future. Sometimes it is important to embrace your mistakes in order to educate others and teach them a lesson. People would be able to learn from my mistakes and provide change for others.
Excellent analysis of the cupboard metaphor, Erin!
Score: 5 out of 5
Hey Brianna! I really enjoyed your blog post as it highlighted the importance of what has happened in the past and how movements still go on today such as The Black Lives Matter Movement and the Women’s Rights Movement. When looking at your second question, it really stuck out to me because I certainly believe that mistakes should be brought up from the past to better educate ourselves and learn from our mistakes as a society. It is extremely important to stay educated and aware of the mistakes made in the past, and what solutions can be made from those mistakes. The quote, “Who did what to whom on which day? Who said that? She said that? What did he just do? Did she really just say that? He said what? What did she do? Did I hear what I think I heard?….” (Rankine 63) gives us an important look at how people react when things are said that may be a mistake, offensive or seem controversial. When these things are said and come off as a problem, it is clear that the past is not going to be forgotten and there has to be a lesson learned from these mistakes people make in society when dealing with many different issues such as racism, sexism, etc. It is truly important in order to help our society’s future that we bring these mistakes up and educate ourselves on what we can do in the future to avoid running into these problems.
That’s such an important quote, Delayne! Rankine is illustrating the pause, hesitation, and even doubt that can occur in the moment when a microaggression occurs. They often pass so quickly that the victim doesn’t always have time to carefully weigh the pros and cons of how they want to react.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Brianna, Great blog post! I like how you touched on the way that Rankine uses the second-person pronoun, you, to draw in the reader and makes us in way, part of the story. I think Rankine does this so when we are reading about the encounters and what she has gone through we can imagine ourselves in her shoes and relive the memories with her. The memories she describes in the story have taken a toll on her and will stick with her forever because of what she went through as a black woman. Rankine connects to this point where she says “There are no benefits to nostalgia. Certainly, nostalgia and being without nostalgia relive the past” (Rankine 64).What she is saying here is that she has no affection for the past because none of it has been good and worth remembering. Having no nostalgia or having nostalgia both relives the past in her eyes because not having it shows that there is nothing good worth remembering but, having nostalgia makes her relive her past which was full of suffering and oppression. In response to your second question, I believe that, sometimes the past should be brought up in present times. By bringing up societies past mistakes we can teach the younger generations what went wrong and how these mistakes happened, so they do not happen again. I would want my mistakes brought up to show what I did wrong so, no one else makes the same mistake.No one should have to go through what Rankine went through and we need to educate people, so it does not have to happen to anyone ever again.
Great job with this comment, Justin!
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Brianna! I really enjoyed reading your blog post and found that we connected on similar thoughts about the book. One connection I made was the use of “you” in the book. This word makes us more intrigued and connected as readers. I also assumed the main protagonist is black because the lyric talks about stories of the struggles of people of color and included pictures as well. I wanted to tackle your discussion question on if we should forget the past and want people to bring up your mistakes to help the future. The memories Rankine describes took a great toll on her and she wanted to forget this past as it has been nothing but negative. Nevertheless, she is reliving it as she talks about it. In my opinion I definitely think dwelling on the past and living in the past will eat you alive. If you make a mistake and learn from it and become better from that mistake I believe we could provide knowledge or insight to others to not make the same mistakes. There is a time and a place to bring up the past and sometimes this can be resourceful. A quote I found resourceful was , “To your mind, feelings are what create a person, something unwilling, something wild vandalizing whatever the skull holds.”(Rankine 61) This gives off the impression that without something that you regret doing or realize now was “something wild vandalizing” you can’t grow. If you did something bad in the past and learned from it but still hate yourself for that, then I think that will tarnish your future. If you choose to become a better person and help others with your knowledge and awareness then bringing up the past is a great resource. The past is relevant in her lyric and needs to be used as a learning tool to fight racism. It should be used for future generations to help make change for others.
Good job with this comment, Sydnie. Keep in mind that this is not a memoir — the incidents described are all grounded in things that actually happened, but Rankine did a lot of research and created these lyrics based on what people had told her.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Brianna! I think you have made such good connections between the book and real-life situations today. Your analysis of this section of the book had me questioning the characters’ actions as if I was in their shoes. To answer your second guiding question, I think that it is important people bring up history and the past; even if it was good or bad. Educating younger generations on the past can help show them how to grow from it and what made it wrong. Ignoring that something never happened will not prevent it from happening again or erase it from history. The text states, “the world is wrong. You can’t put the past behind you. It’s buried in you; it’s turned your flesh into its own cupboard” (Rankine 63). This inherently reveals that society is doing the wrong thing by keeping the past in the past and not learning and growing from it. History should be taken as a lesson and Rankine does a thoughtful analysis on explaining why the world is wrong for going about the lessons in history as a whole. She is saying that it should be spoken about and is never going away.
Good job with this comment, Emma!
Score: 5 out of 5
Hey Brianna, I loved your blog post! I definitely loved how you talked about how Rankine brings up her perception and society’s perception on the importance of living through past events or mistakes. To answer your second discussion question, I do not think that people should just forget about the past and not bring it up in present times. The past is just as much a part of the present as the present is. If we don’t teach and talk about the past, we would be doomed to make the same mistakes, we would repeat history. Like Rankine talks about the world has had much practice, she states “You like to think memory goes far back through remembering was never recommended. Forget all that, the world says. The worlds had a lot of practice.” (Rankine 63). We would be foolish is we just disregarded the past and repeated its mistakes. If I was in society’s position, I do think I would want my mistakes to be brought up in the present time. Holding people accountable for things is the only way they will learn and grow. I think that maturity happens through living life, making mistakes, and learning from them.
Good job with this comment, Chloe. I wonder what memories you think Rankine is referring to here. What is it that the world prefers to forget?
Score: 5 out of 5
Hey Brianna! I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I like how you brought up the saying that the world should just move on from the past. This is so true, but the memories we have should help us from letting things in the past happen again. It’s sad that racism is still in our society. All it really is is the makeup of your genetic background and the closer your ancestors lived to the equator resembles how dark your skin is. The fact that this can make people “to know what you sound like is worth nothing” (Claudia, 69) is completely absurd. In response to your second question, I do not believe people should forget the past. The past is what makes you the person you are today. I would want my mistakes to be brought up in the present so I can learn from them.
Good job with this comment, Logan. Just keep in mind that with MLA citations we use the author’s last name (Rankine).
Score: 4 out of 5
Hi Brianna! I really enjoyed reading your blog post and thought you made some very good points. In regards to your second question, I think that the past should still be brought up today. I think it is important to recognize what has happened in the past because it still is affecting so much of today’s society. I believe that if a society does not bring the past up, it is more likely for the discrimination to continue or regress back to the way it was in the past because the people don’t think about all the things that had previously happened. I think I would want my mistakes to be used as an example for what not to do. I think it is important for a society to be able to learn and grow from mistakes. And having the mistakes be talked about is an important role in helping a society to become better. “Feel better. Move forward. Let it go. Come on. Come on. Come on” (Rankine 66). This quote shows that in society it is seen that the past should be in the past and people should let go of all the pain of the past. I do not agree with this at all because a society needs to be able to recognize the past and learn from it.
Good job with this comment, Erin.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Brianna, interesting post!
Recently I’ve been thinking about the remembrance of tragedy, and how our generation is defined by our inability to remember 9/11. While we don’t have memories of that day, we’re told to never forget it. I agree that we shouldn’t forget the lives that were lost on that day, and the heroic work of the first responders, but I also find it interesting that it has become common to say something along the lines of: “slavery was hundreds of years ago, forget about it,” or “I’m not responsible for the actions of my ancestors.” It’s all very hypocritical when one thinks about the discrimination Muslims face in America because of 9/11 and because it affected the whole population of NYC and America rather than just minority groups we are pushed to remember it. This idea that we should move on from the past and forget it is a racist tactic to blur history and erase/invalidate the generational trauma that black Americans face today.
When Rankine writes, “…the problem is not one of a lack of memories to remember; the problem is simply a lack, a lack before, during and after” she’s talking about the way that history is being whitewashed (64). Not only that, but she’s addressing this idea that before slavery started there wasn’t enough agency to keep it from happening. That people have always been too eager to put themselves above others based on skin color rather than look at each other as equals. Racism began before slavery did, and the lack of agency to correct these actions was an issue during slavery. We currently have all this information on the past, but it gets censored to try and dull the experience black Americans were forced to face. The “lack” she speaks to regards the inaction of those who knew what was happening was wrong but chose to ignore it. For us, that lack comes from this idea that we should move on from the past, and forget that it ever happened in the hopes that it will be completely erased. But that’s far from what we need to do. We need to fill rid ourselves of this “lack” and remember history as it truly happened.
Wow, great job with this comment, Madison! I love the specificity: both of your comparison to 9/11 and in your analysis of the whitewashing of history. Rankine is definitely highlighting our nation’s selective memory.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Brianna! I liked your blog post, especially the last paragraph talking about how we shouldn’t forget the past. To answer your second discussion question based on the last paragraph, I don’t think people should forget about the past, whether that it is history or their own personal past. The reason why I think people shouldn’t forget about the past is because other people can benefit from the knowledge someone else faced and they can learn from that. With that being said, I think your own personal past should be brought up when necessary because some people may still be healing from their past and talking about it may feel painful, depending on what happened in someone’s past. Personally, I don’t think I would like my mistakes from the past being brought up but I would rather my mistakes being talked about and someone learning from that mistake than someone repeating the same mistake that I made and learning from it that way. One of the quotes that Rankine used is that “the past is a life sentence, a blunt instrument aimed at tomorrow” (72). I think this quote really puts into perspective that our past impacts the future. What we do will impact tomorrow and the rest of our life pretty much. Our past is with us for the rest of our lives, a past that we are proud of and a past that we aren’t so proud of. In the end, what matters is that we learn from our mistakes and don’t repeat them, with hopes of educating the people around us about our past so they too don’t repeat the same mistakes we make.
Good job with this comment, Greta.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hey Brianna!! I really enjoyed reading your blog post and found what you had to say very fascinating. I liked how you went into depth about how the author Rankine writes in a second-person narrative, using words like “you” consistently in order to draw in the reader’s attention. This writing style is so effective as it strongly develops the reader’s imagery as we can imagine the pain she experienced or witnessed. To speak on your question pertaining to this book I believe that people should accept the past and find ways to strengthen themselves. For instance, it is always healthy to talk about the past if it involves a life learning lesson. If I was in the speaker’s position of being a person of color and witnessed all the traumatic events that she, did I would try my hardest to stay calm and remember that I must stay strong and educate others about the cruelty. The most powerful quote that stood out to me in this chapter was “The world is wrong. You can’t put the past behind you. It’s buried in you; it’s turned your flesh into its own cupboard” (Rankine 63). This resembles the idea that in some circumstances no matter what happens sometimes your past might still follow you. It is up to you as an individual to remain bold and confident and talk about and embrace your mistakes. In this life if you want to be the best version of yourself you must help others with your knowledge and fight for causes. What Rankine has experienced is unjustified and we must continue to fight and educate our generation.
Nice job with this comment, Jenna.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Brianna! Great job on your blog post! I especially like how you tied in modern day events such as the Black Lives Matter Movement and the Women’s Rights Movement. It’s so sad to think that both racism and sexism occur today in a society that is considered so evolved and progressive. In the incident that occured on page 77, I think Rankine’s main protagonist was right for giving the person the benefit of the doubt because you never know what someone else is thinking or how they are interpreting a situation. However, Rankine shows us throughout the whole lyric that the main protagonist has faced much racism throughout their life, so if they didn’t give the person the benefit of the doubt, it would be justified based on all of their past events. Additionally, when the guy turns to the main character and says, “oh my god I didn’t see you… no, no, no, I really didn’t see you” this could make the main protagonist feel like they aren’t seen by others in the world (Rankine, 77). Feeling invisible in a world where you already feel like an outcast can take a toll on a person and just adds to the issue of racism.
Good job with this comment, Sydney. Rankine is definitely drawing our attention to both the hypervisibility and invisibility of Blackness in American society.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Brianna, great post! With regard to your second discussion question, I do not think that the past should be forgotten about in the present. The past is so important because despite the mistakes, it gives people the opportunity to grow and to not be the way we once were. We see a lot of instances of racism and hatred throughout the book, and they are brought to light in order to hopefully ensure that these things do not continue. We see how horrible they are, and hopefully it is enough to make a change. It is important to bring up these things so that they stop, and never happen again. Even though we unfortunately still see these things today, there are even more people advocating for ourselves and each-other hoping for change. On page 106 we see someone being pulled over by a police officer, “Get on the ground now. I must have been speeding. No, you weren’t speeding. I wasn’t speeding? You weren’t doing anything wrong. Then why are you pulling me over? Why am I pulled over? Put your hands where they can be seen.” (Rankine, 106) This is extremely problematic on the officers side. They did not give a reason to this person as to why they were being pulled over, and yet they still make this person put their hands up, get on the ground, push them into the police car and make them stand naked at the police station only to find out it is not the person that they were looking for, only that they “fit the description”. They never even clarify what the “description” was which could imply that there was racial profiling going on. This person was treated wrong and with police brutality taking many lives, especially African Americans, it is important to spread this. It is difficult to hear about but for many it is a reality, and in order to ensure that our neighbors, children and so on are not treated this way in the future. History is important and taught in schools to educate children on what has happened and how we could and should prevent those things from happening. We teach children about WWII and the terrible things that Germany did, why shouldn’t we teach them about the terrible things that happened and continue to happen in this nation? It is important that we do not repeat history, but for us to not repeat it we have to be informed of it.
Works Cited
Rankine, Claudia, 1963-author. Citizen : An American Lyric. Minneapolis, Minnesota : Graywolf Press, 2014.
Great job with this comment, Skylar! I’m glad you refocused this conversation around police brutality. As we read in the article by Bokat-Lindell, the police first emerged in order to capture runaway slaves and send them back to their masters, which raises the question, if we got rid of slavery, why do we still have the police? In this very real, concrete sense, the past is still with us today.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Brianna, I enjoyed reading your blog post! I liked that you commented on how Rankine uses the second person voice “you” I feel that by doing this she is allowing readers to picture themself experiencing these encounters which helps readers understand the frustration and pain these experiences cause. To answer your second question, the past should not be forgotten. I feel that there is so much to learn from the past and to grow as a society. To forget and move on is pushing away experiences people have been through. When Rankine states “Yes, and this is how you are a citizen: Come on. Let it go. Move on” (Rankine 151) she shows that there is an expectation to just let things go and move on from the past. Rankine through this book has talked about the racism and discrimination she has experienced. To simply just move on or let it go is ignoring these issues. There are many topics in history that we can learn from and make sure arent repeated in the future, therefore I think its very important to be educated on the past.
Great job with this comment, Caitlin!
Score: 5 out of 5