Violent or Oppressed?

One of the many successes of Claudia Rankine’s Citizen is the call to empathy directed toward the white reader. Although this is a general result of the whole book, it is most obvious in her passage about Serena Williams.

Rankine describes Williams’ reaction to a bad call that cost her a tennis match in the 2009 Women’s US Open semifinal vaguely. She alludes to “a string of invectives” and “explosive behavior” (25). She does not, however, simply illustrate Williams as the stereotypical Angry Black Female that the media treats her like. She concedes that her own reaction was one of concern for Williams’ sanity, but also claims that her behavior “suggests that all the injustice she has played through all the years of her illustrious career flashes before her and she decides finally to respond to all of it” (25).

Just like all of the other experiences that Rankine describes, she does not sugarcoat Serena Williams’ outburst. She concedes that it was something of a breakdown, but in a way that calls the white reader to withhold judgement. Yes, this was an angry woman who happens to be Black. Perhaps her behavior could be considered an overreaction if analyzed out of context. But the context of Williams’ life is crucial to understanding her reaction. This was not an isolated event in which a slighted athlete violently threatened the ref, but the climax after a rising action full of bad calls based on prejudice.

Rankine does not directly argue that Williams’ actions were excusable, but does ask that readers be empathetic with her anger. As a result, it is impossible to judge the outburst as vicious and unwarranted. Williams is not mean or violent, but a woman who has been forced into composure for too long. In comparison to the injustice she has faced, Williams’ words were harmless.