Claudia Rankine Microaggressions

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Social injustices plague the world, still to this day. There are few who speak about these unjust cruelties that others face. Those who do, enlighten those who ignore and refuse to acknowledge. In Citizen: An American Lyric, Claudia Rankine discusses social injustices through her analysis of micro-aggressions. Microaggressions are intentional and unintentional negative statements or actions done to another, typically having to do with race. The mainstream society puts the impact of microaggressions off and do not acknowledge the cruelty that people of minorities, especially people of color, endure. Rankine puts forth a book filled with examples of injustices that her and her friends face or have faced in their normal, everyday lives. …show more content…

She starts the book by leading the reader to imagine going to a Catholic school. While taking a test, the girl behind asks for “you to lean to the right during exams so she can copy what you have written” (5). She later states how “you smell good and have features more like a white person” as if her relating someone white changes her entire perceived perception (5). This arrangement continues with the teacher never catching them due to the fact that she rarely notices “you”. The fact that children encounter and experience discrimination is preposterous. Being told that “you have features more like a white person” is not a complement. What does looking more like a white person have to do with anything? What even is looking more “like a white …show more content…

This causes negative views to continuously brew and adapt. With children being taught stereotypes, bias cloud many’s judgements and being to deepen over time. This many cause injustice in the police force, media, and personal lives. Children following their parents footsteps allow for other children to be hurt. The negativity that the youth undergo can be extremely damaging and led them to feel lost and stuck in stereotypes.
Rankine discusses Serena Williams quite a few times in the text. She alludes to William’s strength in fighting against the social and racial injustices that she has encountered and her ability to overcome them all. Serena plays and competes in a white dominated game. Throughout her tournaments, she has suffered several incorrect calls and fouls due to the color of her skin. When letting her frustrations getting the best of her and speaking out against the incorrect judgement, Serena was labeled as an angry black woman mixed with other

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