In Claudia Rankine’s book Citizen an American Lyric Rankine helps people understand life in America as a black woman or person of color. This is done through talking in the second person narrative and Rankine either telling her story or stories of other people of color. But in the book, something that got my attention was the references to the Colors red, white, and blue. There could be many reasons for the repetition for those three colors together for example she could be trying to get the attention of the American people with the use of the American flag colors. But to me in this book I see these colors repeating as a way to expose how the news media shows what happens in interactions between people of color and the American police forces.
The first reference to one of these colors shows up was “In the darkened moment a body given blue light a flashlight” (Rankine – 70). When I see the words blue light and flashlight together the first thing, I think of is a police officer/ officers police lights being on and the officer walking up to a car with a flashlight to check for something illegal. The next thing that tells me that the colors represent interactions between people of color and the American police forces is when the book says “Stand where you are” (Rankine – 70). When this is said I picture a police officer/ officers doing a search and the person of color is afraid because of the history of violence between people of color and police forces all over America. The color blue is also brought up when Rankine says no matter what time it is blue is always around “looking into the blue light. All day blue burrows the atmosphere” (70). To me this is saying that no matter where she goes no matter what time it is, she can’t get away from the blue of the sky in the day and even the cops blue during the day. Another place where the police force is talked about is “you would look past me, all gloved up, in a big coat, with a fancy fur around my collar, and record a self-saying, you should be scared, the first person can’t pull you together” (Rankine – 71). Here I see a few things referring to the police forces one thing I see is raising the idea that if she or he wasn’t black or had fancier clothes the police wouldn’t pay attention to her or him. I also believe the self-saying is a reference to cell phone videos of police officers’ violence especially on people of color becoming more common. I also see a reference in the jailing of people of color when the book talks about “The past is a life sentence, a blunt instrument” (Rankine – 72). To me when I hear life sentence and blunt instrument close together, I think of police officers using force to arrest a person of color no matter if they did something or not. The last piece that I connect to how the interaction is when it talked about a red-tailed hawk waiting to strike “a red – tailed hawk, dusk at dawn, taking over blue, surveying moment” (Rankine – 76). Here I think Rankine is saying that the police even in the early morning is waiting for a person of color to do something that could be justified or even unjustified as against the law so they could swoop in and attack their pray.
Now in regards to the history of violence against people of color for me and people around my age we probably are most likely to remember the Trevon Martin case because of the media coverage around it as for people in high school and middle school now when they think of violence against people of color it’s a good chance the first incidences that come to their head is the Breanna Taylor and George Floyd cases. But that doesn’t mean that these are not the only examples of violence against blacks as we can see on page 134. There are so many “In memory of” (Rankine – 134) and some of them are followed by names and some are not. The further you get down the list the blurrier the list gets.
Discussion Questions
- What do you think is going on with Page 134? In your opinion do you feel Page 134 is important to the book? Explain.
- When the Red-Tailed hawk was referenced on page 72 what was the first thing you thought of?
Works Cited:
Rankine, Claudia, 1963-author. Citizen : An American Lyric. Minneapolis, Minnesota : Graywolf Press, 2014.
Hi Scott! I really liked how you made that connection of the colors of the American flag throughout the book, that is something that I didn’t notice until now. I think that your first discussion question references one of the most important aspects of the book. What I think is happening on page 134 is that Rankine seems to be symbolizing how many black people have died and how they all seem to fade into the white page could be how they can be forgotten by some white people. After stating the many different names of black people who have died, she says “because white men can’t police their imagination black people are dying” (Rankine 135). I think what Rankine is saying that because white people have this image made up of black people, they are causing their deaths. This goes with what is on page 134 because that is the list of the names of those who died, and Rankine is saying that the cause of this long list of deaths is the image that some white people have on the black community. I feel like these pages are able to get the important message across without even needing an explanation in the text which is very powerful.
Great analysis, Katie! I hope you bring this up in class.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Scott! I liked the connection you made with the colors red, white, and blue. I never noticed how the color blue had so much meaning to it until now. I mean this also relates to the term some people use today “blue lives matter.” When people say that phrase, they are referring to the police. I think what is going on page 134 is Rankine is trying to show how many people of color have lost their life as a result of an encounter with the police. I think Rankine is trying to prove that no matter what people do to put an end to police brutality, against people of color, the list just keeps going. In Citizen it states, “Because white men can’t police their imagination black people are dying.” (Rankine 135). I think Rankine maybe said this to prove the point that most people who are white don’t realize how bad police brutality against people of color is. I feel like she tried to explain that some people who are white believe stereotypes about people of color which gives them a bad image of people of color. I don’t think it’s right of people to believe stereotypes because everyone is different. I definitely think that page 134 is important to the book because it shows that the list is getting longer as a result of people being ignorant when it comes to police brutality. I also think it is very powerful because it sends the overall message that this is the reality we live in and if no one stands up, educates themselves, and fight for what’s right then the deaths are only going to increase. I also believe that many people are denial about the situation because they don’t have any background knowledge.
Excellent job with this comment, Angelica! That might be the absolute most important quote in the book. It’s such a fascinating reversal, too, with Rankine saying that it’s white people who need to be policed, not people of color.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Scott! This was a great blog post! I especially liked how you tied in your interpretations for Rankine’s use of the repetition of color in the chapters we read for these blog posts. In regards to your second question, when I first read about the “red-tailed hawk” on page 76, the first thing that came to mind was how Red-Tailed Hawks are birds of prey that hunt on smaller animals such as squirrels and mice. This made me think similarly to you, Scott. It made me think of how some police officers, or in this instance, the Red-Tailed Hawk, prey on smaller creatures, or in this case, Black citizens – which is troublesome to say the least. Rankine makes a point in her way of writing this passage by saying “… surveying movement, against the calm, red sky at morning” (Rankine 76). When I read this, it made me think of when you are driving down the highway, and police officers are sitting there, surveying how fast you are going, just waiting. Although you have done nothing wrong and aren’t speeding, you slam on the brakes because you don’t want to get pulled over.
Another thing I wanted to point out in this passage was the saying “…red sky at morning” (Rankine 76). There is an old saying, “Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning,” insinuating that when the sky is red at night, the next day will be a clear day. When the sky is red in the morning, it usually means bad weather is coming. It made me wonder if Rankine was implying that with the red sky in the morning, or a warning, and the bird of prey, or in this case, the police force — Was Rankine making a connection between the threatening impression of the police force and Black Americans who have done nothing to deserve the threats placed upon them? Even if that was not what Rankine intended, that is what I thought about when reading that passage.
Excellent job with this comment, Lindsey! We’re told that the police exist to protect us, but you’re absolutely right that they prey upon, rather than protect, people of color.
Great interpretation of “red sky at morning” too — I wasn’t familiar with that saying.
Score: 5 out of 5
Hi Scott! I really loved your post and thought you brought up some interesting points. I really loved your interpretation of the different colors mentioned throughout the chapters read for today. I also noticed all of the colors mentioned but had trouble putting together a meaning for them. I thought your interpretation of the colors in relation to cops was very interesting and a great observation on your part! In regards to your first discussion question I was very moved by pg 134. To me it reminds me of the Kimberlé Crenshaw TED talk called “The Urgency of Intersectionality. In this TED talk Crenshaw has everyone stand up and as she names specific black people, if audience members don’t know the name they sit down until only several people are standing who know all of the names listed. This reminds me of pg. 134 in that all of these names are listed as a reminder of all of the people who are killed and harmed by police. These are only a small percentage of black people who are killed or harmed by the police in this country. It is disgusting to think that there are so many killed and injured by police yet, these people are not even known to the majority of the population. This reminds me of a quote in Citizen when Rankine says, “A similar accumulation and release drove many Americans to respond to the Rodney King beating. Before it happened, it happened and happened” (Rankine 116). In this quote it emphasizes the fact that all of the attention from everyone on the Rodney King beating was what caused other people to react. If it did not get as much attention then people wouldn’t feel the need to conform and react in the same way. People might have been angry and upset but perhaps it wouldn’t have been such an intense reaction that it was. And the fact that Rankine says that before this happened it “happened and happened” signifies the fact that this is not the only beating that has occurred. That this was only recognized because it was caught on film. That there are so many other beatings that occur on a daily basis but go unrecognized because they are not caught on film
Great job with this comment, Alaina. You’re so right that the repetition of “happened and happened” evokes the ongoing, pervasive nature of racialized police brutality. As Bokat-Lindell argues in the article we read for class, the police force was designed to capture runaway slaves and return them to their owners. We abolished slavery, yet for some reason we still have this outdated police force that is continuing to terrorize Black communities.
Score: 5 out of 5