Nicole Kheyfets
Professor Koning
English 115
30 September 2021
The Detrimental Seed of Implicit Bias and The Abysmal Plant of Racism:
My Journey Through Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric
When I first saw the book Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine appear on my ebook list, the first thing that struck me was the black hood on the cover. It resembled a medieval-style executioner hood; I imagined this book would be set within that realm. Alongside the cover, the layout out of the book struck me as well. I was mostly confused about why there were so many blank pages. What stood out to me the most was the way the text was written, the imagery used, and the overall message. Together, these three things help make Citizen: An American Lyric a compelling text.
When I began my journey through the book, the first thing that struck me was that the book was written in the second person. I don’t think I have read a book written in this style, so I was very intrigued to begin reading it. I began to envision myself within each experience Claudia Rankine wrote about. Not only this, but I also felt the emotions the speaker had felt throughout each situation. For example, Rankine wrote, “And when the woman with the multiple degrees says, I didn’t know black women could get cancer, instinctively you take two steps” (Rankine Section I). I instinctively felt a sense of rage and confusion. How can a woman, who in theory is so highly educated, not know black people get cancer? As I read this, this thought raced through my mind, and I felt disgusted. As I read through the cancer situation, I presumed this could never be real. I believed no person could ever assume a person of color could not get cancer. To my astonishment and horror, when I watched the video Claudia Rankine: How Art Teaches A Poet To See, Claudia Rankine discussed how this was her own experience. This experience shows a deep-rooted implicit bias (when a person has a misguided generalization about a particular race). This doctor had an implicit bias that she did not know black people could get cancer; this exhibited a seed of implicit bias. She had a misguided, false generalization about the entire black community, dehumanizing her.
The use of the second-person point of view can transport the reader to imagine themselves becoming the characters within the story. Following the ending to this cancer situation was a page left entirely blank. Confusion loomed upon me as I wondered what the purpose of leaving an entire page blank was. Through a reading discussion in my English class, my professor enlightened us that the page might have been left blank as a space to think. I found this insight so fascinating as I had never read a book that purposefully left the reader space to think about what they had just read. I found this space to be very useful as the text itself was written in a very poetic way, and therefore was, difficult for me to understand.
In addition to the use of the second person, the imagery Rankine used allowed me to understand the text more. The first image that drew my attention was in section I, which resembled a half-human, half-animal. I had no idea what this image was supposed to be, nor what it was meant to represent. This image follows the story of a person who sought help from a trauma counselor whose office is in her home. When this person knocks on the front door, “the woman [stood there yelling] at the top of her lungs[.] Get away from my house! What are you doing in my yard?” (Rankine Section I). She mistakes her patient for an intruder simply because of her skin tone. I was floored and thought to myself, ‘How can a professional ever make this disgusting mistake?’ I was so shocked and horrified to find out this story had happened.
After I finished reading this situation, the image of the half-human, half-animal followed. I was confused about what this image had to do with this story about the therapist and her patient. I watched Claudia Rankine: How Art Teaches A Poet To See to understand this image. In it, Rankine stated that the picture was to represent the fact that “black people are often described as . . . savages, animals, gorillas” (Rankine 15:33 - 15:39). After discovering this explanation, it helped me understand the therapist’s situation and her patient so much more. Looking back at the preceding story, the therapist might have had an implicit bias that all black people do is commit crimes. She had this idea that her patient was trespassing, rather than that patient being on her property as a regular patient seeking help. This trauma therapist thought the person at the front door was a threat rather than a patient. She viewed this person as an animal and, reading this broke my heart.
Another image that helped me understand the text more was the second image in part II. This image shows a person in a black bodysuit, fully covered from head to toe in different colored flowers. At first glance, I thought this image was a beautiful work of art. This image accompanied the story of the American tennis player Serena Williams. Claudia Rankine wrote how during “the 2009 Women’s US Open final. . . Serena. . . [had been] overcome by a rage you recognize and have been taught to hold at a distance for your own good” (Rankine Section II). Rankine explains that this was due to a build-up of injustices that Williams had faced throughout her career.
As the situation continued, Rankine explained that many injustices Williams had faced were due to “the distinguished tennis chair umpire” (Rankine Section II), and many more things. This umpire falsely accused her of playing unfairly, which resulted in her losing her matches. These false accusations appeared to be racially motivated as Williams played against a white player; these allegations resulted in William’s rightful outburst. The picture that followed was created by the visual artist Nick Cave. In the video Claudia Rankine: How Art Teaches A Poet To See, Rankine describes how she had watched an interview with Cave. In it, he mentioned he created the suits to hide the person’s skin color, as, in his eyes, racism stems from a person’s skin color. When I found this out, I was so intrigued as I had just thought it was a beautiful work of art and nothing more. After reading the story about Serena Williams, I figured out that if it weren’t for her skin color, the umpire would not have made those false allegations against her. Understanding Nick Cave’s intentions when creating his bodysuits made me understand the unjust story of Serena Williams so more.
Nearing the end of my journey of reading Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric, a piece that struck me was the memorial page near the end of section VI. The list began with, “In [m]emory of Jordan Russell Davis” (Rankine Section VI). The last name on the list is Rayshard Brooks, who was fatally shot by police in 2020. This tribute significantly touched me. However, the thing that hit me the most was the fact that 20 “[i]n [memories]” (Rankine Section VI) were left blank. The blank pages were an eerie and haunting reminder that racism will continue to take the lives of innocent victims. I believe the acts and beliefs of racism stem from the seed of an implicit bias. Some people have a false, preexisting generalization against an entire race, leading to a future hatred of said race. This seed of implicit bias could stem from family members or people one is often surrounded by. Regardless, once a seed is planted, a plant will soon grow.
As I concluded my journey, I found this section incredibly profound. My heart sank when I read the line, “The worst injury is feeling you don’t belong so much to you-” (Rankine Section VII). As soon as someone discriminates against another, it cuts such a deep wound. When someone makes sly remarks on things one cannot control, such as skin color, it damages one’s dignity and pride. What I found incredibly interesting about the conclusion of Citizen is how Rankine switches from the use of the second person to the first person. It almost felt as if the speaker was telling all of the stories mentioned in Citizen to someone else. Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric concludes with the line, “It wasn’t a match, I say. It was a lesson” (Rankine Section VII). I was at first confused about this line. I pondered as to why Rankine would end Citizen this way. From watching the video Claudia Rankine: How Art Teaches A Poet To See, Rankine discussed how she ended the book with this line because there is no true end to racism. My heart sank at this shattering reality.
After finishing Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric, I concluded this book was, indeed, an executioner-style book. Often, as we hear many stories about injustices and pure racism, most acts go unspoken. Most are unspoken. Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric allows said conversations to ignite. While Rankine shines a light on the deaths of victims of racism, she also shines a light on the execution of one’s pride and ego as a human being. Rankine’s book allows for conversations about one’s experience with racism. It also allows for education on the subject of racism. The use of the second person, the imagery, and the overall message, this issue will continue if nothing is done to prevent it, all combine to make this book incredibly effective. Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric is a compelling text to educate others and start conversations about racism amongst our peers. Though I had trouble at first understanding the text, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as soon as I dug deeper. I now understand the detrimental seed of implicit bias and the abysmal, thorn-filled plant of racism.
Works Cited
Artsideasct, director. Claudia Rankine: How Art Teaches a Poet to See. YouTube, International
Festival of Arts & Ideas, 20 Oct. 2015,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sbPwNN09n8. Accessed 2 Oct. 2021.
Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric. Graywolf Press, 2014.