Citizen: An American Lyric

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

DEBATE: “America as a Post-Racial Society”

In this activity, students will participate in a debate regarding the possibility of America as a post-racial society.

In her text, Rankine uses a variety of incidents and situations to reject the concept of a “post-racial” society in the US. For this Activity, you will argue either for or against the following assertion: The US will never be a “post-racial” society. Working in one of two teams, you will develop one side of the argument. Be sure to include opening and closing statements, as well as rebuttals, and rehearse your argument with your group prior to the in-class debate. Finally, participate in a post-debate class discussion in which you analyze and reflect on each team’s argumentative approaches.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity invites students to apply their analytical and debate skills to the theme of The Lie of “Post-Racial” America. Students may use the text, outside sources, and, if comfortable, personal experiences during the debate. This teacher-facing resource from Harvard University provides guidance on facilitating in-class debates. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, it may be beneficial to reminds students what is conducive to a productive, respectful, and successful debate in a classroom environment.

Differentiation Suggestion: For small classes, students with social anxiety, and/or those who would benefit from a more writing-focused exercise, consider amending this Activity to an argumentative essay in which students answer the following: Is it possible for America to become a “post-racial” society? Why or why not?

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Rankine offers examples of racial Microaggressions throughout the text.

• What is a Microaggression, and how does this term relate to marginalized groups? (topic sentence)
• Select two of Rankine’s examples of Microaggressions and analyze the subject’s response to it. Consider the significance of the subject’s response in relation to your claim.
• In your concluding sentences, discuss how subtle instances of racism reinforce larger, historical systems of racism and impact marginalized groups.

2. According to Rankine, there are numerous paradoxes embedded in the Black experience, including invisibility/hypervisibility and historical/present self.

• How does Citizen approach these paradoxes? (topic sentence)
• Identify and analyze the nuances of paradoxes in the text.
• How does Rankine’s text speak to the larger discussion of belonging and Citizenship as a paradox?

3. Citizen is an unusual text in its structure and stylistic approach, as it includes prose, poetry, and images to convey meaning.

• How do Rankine’s stylistic and structural choices comment on or reflect the African American experience? (topic sentence)
• Select at least one structural and one stylistic choice to analyze in relation to your claim.
• In your concluding sentences, consider how Rankine’s genre-bending connects to one of the text’s themes: Microaggressions, The Lie of “Post-Racial” America, or Citizenship.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider the multidisciplinary nature of Citizen. What is the effect of the interplay of words, visual elements, and overall structure? Why did Rankine make her choices? What would be lost if the artwork, for example, were to be removed from the book?

2. 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 identity. How might readers of various races, citizenships, and/or ethnic backgrounds receive the text differently? In which ways would the text’s meaning change if the narration style was in first or third person?

3. 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 how it interplays with the adjacent text.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following words best describes the format of the first chapter?

A) A collection of memories in the form of vignettes

B) A timeline from infancy to adolescence

C) A flashback to life in primary school

D) A stream-of-consciousness about the woes of tomorrow

2. Which of the following statements would the subject most likely agree with, based on the discussion of Art Thoughtz?

A) That “blackness” is not a widely used commodified term

B) That Black anger is viewed monolithically

C) That people of color must never be visibly aggressive

D) That the average American is not interested in angry music

3. Which of the following sentences best summarizes the argument that Rankine makes concerning Serena Williams’s behavior at the 2009 US Open?

A) Systematic racial oppression is apparent in the average POC athlete.

B) Women tennis players are not true advocates for racial equality.

C) Black bodies are overscrutinized, particularly in dominantly white spaces.

D) Violence is always justifiable, no matter the consequences.

4. In Chapter 5, Rankine writes, “Words work as release—well-oiled doors opening and closing between intention, gesture.” Which of the following literary terms does she use in this quote?

A) Metaphor

B) Simile

C) Anaphora

D) Metonymy

5. Which of the following words embodies the emotion felt by the subject throughout the text?

A) Fear

B) Exhaustion

C) Apathy

D) Amusement

6. Which of the following phrases best summarizes the structure of Chapters 4-5?

A) Freeform prose

B) Rigid stanzas

C) Nonlinear dialogues

D) Chronological commentary

7. Which of the following assumptions can be made about the subject’s socio-economic background?

A) She experiences housing and food insecurity.

B) She works in the manual labor sector.

C) She was raised primarily in Africa.

D) She is a relatively affluent academic.

8. Which of the following phrases best describes the format of Chapter 6?

A) A collection of nonfiction moments

B) A straightforward narrative

C) A flashback to earlier memories

D) An amalgamation of poetry

9. Which of the following assertions would Rankine most likely agree with?

A) The concept of a “post-racial” America is quickly approaching.

B) Women experience an equal amount of racism to their male counterparts.

C) There is a continued presence of lived-racism for people of color in American society.

D) The only way to survive structural racism in the US is to hide angry reactions.

10. Which of the following phrases best describes the manner in which the subject unconsciously processes microaggressions of racism?

A) Litigation

B) Spiritualization

C) Internalization

D) Idolization

11. Which of the following statements would the subject most likely agree with?

A) Affirmative action is a waste of tax dollars.

B) Professional athleticism is an impartial institution.

C) Racism has been normalized to a degree, particularly in disaster-response efforts.

D) Federal and state legislature has learned from past mistakes in law enforcement’s treatment of Black bodies.

12. How does Rankine structure information in the section “BLACK-BLANC-BEUR?”

A) Streamlined with personal anecdotes related to sexism in sports

B) Punctuated with various authors’ perspectives on racism

C) Bookended with Rankine’s personal experience at a soccer match

D) Highlighted with a comprehensive discussion of the objectification of female athletes

13. Which of the following phrases best describes Rankine’s “Making Room?”

A) The reality of Black women in the workforce

B) The economics of blackness as a commodified art form

C) The politics of space and belonging

D) The social ramifications of rejecting whiteness

14. Which of the following phrases best describes how the subject responds to the assumption that the credit card belongs to her friend and not her?

A) With anger

B) With apathy

C) With frustration

D) With laughter

15. In her final chapter, Rankine writes, “Every day your mouth opens and receives the kiss the world offers, which seals you shut […] and now stumbles around in you—the go-along-to-get-along tongue pushing your tongue aside.” Which of the following literary terms does she use in this quote?

A) Metaphor

B) Paradox

C) Personification

D) Simile

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Consider the timeline of the text. In which ways does Rankine indicate the passage of time to the reader?

2. In which ways is this text an example of the nonfiction genre? In which ways is it also an example of fiction?