Citizen: An American Lyric

The majority of Citizen is written in the second-person point of view, which places the reader squarely at the center of the narrative as “you.” Consider the impact that the second-person voice has in relation to the reader’s racial identity. How might a reader identifying as white might receive the text differently from readers identifying as non-white?

Consider the artwork that illustrates Citizen. Select one visual element and examine it in the context of the book as a whole. In what ways does this particular piece of art affect and/or symbolize the narrative? Discuss the piece’s placement in the text overall, and also how it interplays with the immediately adjacent text.

Return to the discussion of Serena Williams in Chapter 2, thinking about the “two dimensional” rendering of her. Discuss this concept.

According to Rankine, there are numerous paradoxes embedded in the black experience, including invisibility/hypervisibility, and historical self/present self. How does Citizen discuss these paradoxes? Are there other paradoxes you can think of?

Discuss the concept of “post-racial America”—and the rejection of this concept—in Citizen. Is it ever possible for American society to be “post-racial”?

The epigraph to Citizen is the following quote by French filmmaker Chris Marker: “If they don’t see happiness in the picture, at least they’ll see the black.” Are there moments of happiness in Citizen? Discuss the relevance of this quotation to the text as a whole.

Examples of racial microaggressions are offered throughout the book. Review each of these microaggressions and explain how subtle instances of racism reinforce larger, historical systems of racism.

A watermark is a faint marking, often used on official documents, to indicate authenticity. Watermarks appear twice in Citizen: first in the section that makes reference to President Obama, on page 112, and, second, in the discussion of the World Cup, beginning on page 120. What purpose do the watermarks serve in these sections? Discuss their effect as an experimental technique in the context of their respective chapters, as well as in the book in its entirety.