Citizen: An American Lyric
Citizen by Claudia Rankine is unique in that rather than being a traditionally written novel, it challenges racial stereotypes right from its format. Citizen is comprised of a collection of personal stories from Rankine and her friends. They are all racist encounters, some subtle and some outright. The book is entirely in second person, with Rankine addressing her readers as “you ”. Sprinkled throughout are photographs and artwork, as well as poetry. All the artwork is very intentional and deeply fascinating. Beginning with the cover art Rankine chose the piece “In the Hood” by David Hammons from 1993. The piece was in an exhibition at the Het Nieuwe Institut . “ A hoodie is worn by everybody: kids, white men, white women, Black men. But it clings to the Black body as a sign of criminality like nothing else."-- Claudia Rankine .” Citizen delves deep into the cruelty of rac...