The thoughts and ideas that circulate around racism in society have been long instilled into our way of life, the way we view and talk about these topics can be very controversial, and in many times a sensitive topic to discuss. Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, was written to open up and start a conversation with others about their thoughts and opinions regarding the issues that many African Americans face through racism they have experienced. Rankine’s take on this book through short stories and poems tell us the experience of others and the perspectives that aren’t normally viewed or talked about. Citizen is focused around different issues and topics that are related to racism such as microaggression, racial incidents, racist language and the effects it has on a person. The way that Citizen was written allows for an individual to make a connection between those in our society who are often times overlooked or misinterpreted due to certain ideas and stereotypes. Rankine’s writing expresses the concepts of invisibility, the idea of institutionalized racism and the effects that racism has on others.
The concept of invisibility is often created by one’s own ignorance on the topic of racism and discrimination. Often times people in our society make certain comments in which they don’t recognize the impact that their words will have on somebody else. We tend to overlook the boundaries of certain remarks and see them as normal everyday ideas. We don’t stop to think it what ways our comments cause harm to others. We have certain ideas or thoughts about certain groups of people, specifically African Americans which are usually influenced by the media or others opinions. In part one of Citizen it focuses on microaggressions and the emotional impacts it has on people. “Each moment is like this- before it can be known, categorized as similar to another thing and dismissed, it has to be experienced, it has to be seen. What did he just say? Did she really just say that? Did I hear what I think I heard? Did that just come out of my mouth, his mouth, your mouth?.” (Rankine 9) She expresses in this anecdote her anger and frustration towards the way in which African Americans are overlooked. Times in which people’s actions make them feel overlooked or “invisible”, many tend to say comments with no previous knowledge on the topic and their input usually angers those who are being affected. We don’t realize the amount of remarks that we make in our daily lives that we think of as something normal when really it’s only causing wounds to be created.
The idea in which Citizen focuses on in part three is the nature of racist language and how it can truly have a harmful impact on a person. She tells the stories of those who never got the opportunity to speak up, “You take in things you don’t want all the time. The second you hear or see some ordinary moment, all its intended targets, all the meanings behind the retreating seconds, as far as you are able to see, come into focus. Hold up, did you just hear, did you just say, did you just see, did you just do that?” (Rankie 55) The actions and thoughts in the excerpt express the thinking of those who have experienced any racist incident and have internalized it and not spoken up about it. This quote goes on to show how a person who has been called out or pointed at by certain comments tends to accept it and believe that the person who made this remark was right. When they fully process what these racist remarks meant it is too late and they are at a point in which they can’t do anything about it. People in our society tend to say or make certain comments without first thinking about how the other person might take it or the way that it is going to come out. When a person realizes what they have said sounds hurtful or racist they tend to cover it up by saying “ I didn’t mean it like that” but by that time the damage has been done verbally and emotionally but these scenarios in our society are normalized. In order to fix the problems with racist comments is by getting people to discuss and talk about what being racist is and get others informed about the proper ways to express everyone’s thoughts. You never know how much of an impact your words can have on others.
In conclusion, Claudia Rankine’s Citizen helps us to open up conversations about racism a topic that is still often times seen as a taboo topic. This book allows us to widen our perspectives and bring us together to better understand the things that define every individual and what makes everyone unique. It also opens the table for others to share their stories and the hardships they have faced just by being an African American in our society. Citizen also guides us into the idea of being able to change one’s own perspective in order to be more understanding and informed about the issue of racism. Through Rankine’s in depth anecdotes, short stories and poems it helps us analyze the perspective of other and further acknowledge these issues so that one day we are able to change our position in society to help others.
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