Citizen An American Lyric Analysis

As a result of her comprehensive definition on white privilege and endorsement to her academic background, McIntosh begins to persuade her audience that unearned white privilege does exist. The first couple of paragraphs of her essay she gives to define white privilege, so it is recognizable that this definition is necessary for her essay and her argument.

In “Girl Unprotected”, Sports writer and journalist Laura Robinson argues that if you examine the Judicial system, then you will find a strong bias against victims of hockey abuses with an emphasis against women. Throughout her essay, Robinson uses the case against Mike Danton and the NHL to emphasize the issues of gender inequality and the lack of recognition to the abuses in hockey. In her essay, Laura Robinson begins her argument by claiming that “women’s bodies were only allowed to be adjectives to describe men” (Robinson 326). By doing so, she suggests that women’s bodies are all that the men in hockey care about while their mind’s and talents are ignored and lack in value. To reinforce her thesis, Robinson also includes a quote from a

Black Female Presence; Tennis and Dance In Claudia Rankine’s, Citizen, she addresses a various amount of relatable circumstances as an African American. Rankine addresses a specific black figure in America, Serena Williams, as an example of a resilient and strong black female athlete. Serena is one of the examples in which Rankine points out racial inequality, and microaggressions in sports, she also opens up about the stereotypes placed in front of Serena and the personas Serena had to play for years of her career. I've found that in both dance and tennis, black women have faced judgement from spectacle, competed with mostly white counterparts, and have had to consistently reclaim their undeniable contribution to the sport and art form.

In the 1980’s black women are faced with a lot pressure in society, Because women of color are both women and racial minorities, they face more pressure in which lower economic opportunities due to their race and their gender. This pressure is reflected both in the jobs available to them and in their lower pay. Also because they are women of color they are likely to be the giver of the house and also within the families. Through the use of anecdotes,rhetorical questions, anaphora, ethos and metaphors, "In The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism, Audre Lorde argues that women of color need to respond to racism with anger spurred from their fear and that not a bad thing depends on how anger is portrayed.

“Integration and Desegregation”, written by Ralph Wiley addresses issues with integration and how helpful it could be to desegregate areas in the community to benefit all of the citizens and not just one group. ”Affirmative Action”, written by Shelby Steele addresses the issue of people using a tool that is meant to help as a reason to be lazy. Both of the authors in the passages use extreme negatives and positive examples to get their points across to their audience, resulting in the reader having to think about what the author is really saying. Ralph Wiley addresses the issue of integration first, immediately drawing the reader’s attention to the issue at hand. Wiley begins with a question and then proceeds to provide an answer which makes

From then on forward, she wanted to prove that women were worth just as much as men were ( Billie Jean King - In search of Equality). Not shy of speaking her mind, she pushed The National Tennis Association for equal prize money for men and women. Still fighting, King played the infamous ‘Battle of the Sexes’ where she defeated Bobby Riggs 6-4 6-3 6-3 further proving that women were just as good as men. In 1973, when the unequal prize money was still not being addressed, she once again jeopardized herself by threatening to boycott the U.S. Open unless they offered equal pay for both genders (Billie Jean King Biography).

Just because Serena Williams is a “black women” (Claudia) she is seen to portray a certain type of image in “white America” because she is in the public eye, and on the flip side she overpowers her white competitors. But of course, once recognized, black excellence is then supposed to perform with good manners and forgiveness in the face of any racist indifference or violations. Even on her worst days media reports can put down Serena Williams but that will never stunt her growth as one of the worlds best tennis players or take any of her talents away. Through injuries, sickness, training, and harsh name-callings Serena has showed the world why she is one of the top tennis players. Despite what newspaper articles and social media say about

Nike is one of the most iconic and influential companies in the world, and its advertisements can be found anywhere in the world and across every medium. In one of its most recent ad campaigns, this athletic juggernaut tackles the issue of equality, a struggle that has existed throughout the history of sports, just as it has existed throughout the history of this country. The Nike advertisement “Equality” is a black-and-white video featuring superstar athletes from various sports that incorporates several elements and techniques illustrating the use of logos, ethos, and pathos to create a powerful and moving message. In this ad, Nike demonstrates that there is no need for a so-called diverse world of sports because once people are playing a

In the text Shirley Chisholm is taking a stand for women’s rights rather than African American rights. Paragraph 4 it states, “ The unspoken assumption is that women are different.” What Chisholm means by this is that they are treated differently due to their gender. Chisholm believes that it is not always true that women are different. Paragraph 6 states, “But the truth is in the political world I have been far oftener discriminated against because I am a woman than because I am black.”

The story takes place at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in America, when desegregation is finally achieved. Flannery O’Connor’s use of setting augments the mood and deepens the context of the story. However, O’Connor’s method is subtle, often relying on connotation and implication to drive her point across. The story achieves its depressing mood mostly through the use of light and darkness in the setting.

Claudia Rankine a renown poet, uses her novel “Citizen: An American Lyric” to discuss issues of race and imagination. Claudia Rankine is an absolute master of poetry and uses her gripping accounts of racism, through poetry to share a deep message. Claudia Rankine uses poetry to correlate directly to accounts of racism making Citizen a profound experience to read. Not only is this poetic novel a vision of her world through her eyes, Rankine uses the experiences of Americans whose color has rendered them invisible to the many who are privileged enough to be blind and not note racism as a large issue in America. Claudia Rankine articulates the use of you and further emphasizes the larger meaning of the title Citizen and recognizing that word through societal issues.

Black women are treated less than because of their ascribed traits, their gender and race, and are often dehumanized and belittled throughout the movie. They are treated like slaves and are seen as easily disposable. There are several moments throughout the film that show the racial, gender, and class inequalities. These moments also show exploitation and opportunity hoarding. The Help also explains historical context of the inequality that occurred during that time period.

Beyonce’s 2016 visual album, Lemonade, carries her audience through different emotional chapters of her life, presumably following the infidelity of her husband, Jay Z. Although Lemonade touches upon sensitive racial issues and the oppression of African-Americans, I decided to focus more on the sentimental aspect of the film. It is a consensus that women of all kinds are stereotyped as ‘frail’ or ‘hysterical,’ especially when their emotions are transparent, but why is it that the black woman is perceived as ‘angry’ when she does so? Beyonce’s third track on Lemonade, “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” features an excerpt of a speech given by Malcolm X that reads: “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman.” To dismiss and undermine the emotional traumas Beyonce discloses in Lemonade confirms the veracity of Malcolm X’s statement.

She has been caught between two fires: racial dehumanization in the form of “slavery” and “lynching” on the one hand, and the call for “being good” and exerting effort for the betterment of oneself on the other. Self-development and betterment of oneself date back to Booker T. Washington who called for peaceful co-existence with white people instead of protesting against racism. He called colored people to work hard and realize achievements in order to prove to white people that they deserve equal treatment. Finney does not agree on some values and beliefs of the past as she criticizes Washington’s viewpoint by portraying a hard-done-by protagonist who has “heard / 7,844 Sunday sermons on how God made every / woman in his image (Finney, Head off & Split 9: 60-62). Parks has also “hemmed 8,230 skirts “for white women and hemmed out “18,809 pants legs” for white boys.

The discrimination against the white race begins with a gradual distinct treatment of the African Americans who appear to have a trace of the white race. Helene proves to have a more formal dialect as she asks for “the bathroom” (23) and the black woman cannot understand until Helene finally refers to it as “the toilet” (23). The difference in word choice distinct Helene from the African Americans in the Bottom. The fact that Helene also has fairer skin than the African Americans gives the black woman a reason to believe Helene has a trace of white. Therefore, when Helene approaches the black woman on the train, “[the woman fastens her eyes]…on the thick velvet, the fair skin, [and] the high tone voice” (23), as if surprised and shocked to see an African American women appear in such a manner.