Racialc Discrimination

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Rankine develops her book by expanding on the theme of racial discrimination. She focuses on exposing the manner in which people treat blacks. American society has a specific perspective when identifying a black man. Often, black men fall under the category of indignant, aggressive and violent. Rankine presents these labels in discrete scenarios. For example, “… the women standing there yells, at the top of her lungs, Get away from my house!” (18). In this anecdote, a black man is going to meet with his psychologist and she confuses him for someone trying to rob her. The point of this poem is to show that people have preconceptions of black men and base their decisions on those judgments. Rankine reveals the preconceived notion that defines black people in American society, further reinforcing the existence of racism. Another example from Citizen, builds on the concept of common traits shared by black men. The poem tells people to, “… expose expectations for blackness…” (23). Rankine expresses the idea that black people are praised by music industries but persecuted in any other field. The reader understands that black people are stuck in a world that limits their social standards and suppresses them based on their ethnicity. Further, the theme of discrimination signifies that cultural intolerance is an ongoing issue that blacks cope with in their daily lives.

Claudia Rankine supplements techniques to engage the reader on a new perspective regarding racism in America. She shows the side of American culture that most people don’t acknowledge, the side that oppresses blacks. By captivating the readers to the stories, revealing microaggressions and displaying the topic of racial discrimination she shows the effect ethnic intolerance has on people of color.

Work Cited

Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric. Graywolf Press, 2014.