To Nella Larson: the concept of black sexuality discussed in your novel is truly intriguing. The concept tend to be viewed in two parts: male sexuality and female sexuality. To some extent, this view also reflect the issue of race as a social construct: the whites don't view the blacks as true human beings, but actually creatures. The whites consider black females as "exotic images for sexual symbols", and for the black males, they are characterized as "savages" and "barbarians" to justufy lynching, segregation, and racial discrimination. However, here is a quite critical question: is it true that these stereotypcial view of the whites are indestructable? Is it real that for African-Americans, the environment itself is just like a pile of quicksand that swallows you in when you struggle harder"? This question have been asked for generations.
Control
Dear Claudia Rankine, Thank you for Citizen . Before even opening the book, the cover struck me as I examined the torn, limbless black hoodie, now a symbol for racial profiling and police brutality. I was reminded of Ta-Nehesi Coates who writes about the lack of control black people have other their bodies, their lives, that can be taken from them at any moment because of microagressions and racism- all down to a hoodie. A black hoodie stands in for a black man, its presence seems to alert and warn the white viewer to stand armed. Upon reading the book, I fell in love with the way you structure prose poetry- it flows through memories and emotions which are not organized neatly and clearly. You place the reader as the "you" as they explore everyday racism (also known as microaggressions) and its detrimental impact on the person; we are forced into the crippling, disorienting minds of an annoymous person. You powerfully portray how racism deteriorates the psyche of a black p...
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