Yes, And?

Claudia Rankine is an astounding writer with incredible skill, whose work is so rich in meaning that it may be impossible to discover all the intent put into her work. While reading Rankine's Citizen, I was caught up on the meaning of one seemingly insignificant phrase: "Yes, and". It is first introduced in a passage early on in the book. Rankine writes:

You are reminded of a conversation you had recently, comparing the merits of sentences constructed implicitly with "yes, and" rather than "yes, but". You and your friend decided that "yes, and" attested to a life with no turn-off, no alternative routes (8). 

She returns to the phrase on the following page, remarking, "Yes, and it's raining" at the start of a passage which finishes with, "And as light as the rain seems, it still rains down on you" (9). The rain is a fairly evident metaphor for racism, with even the 'light' microaggressions still affecting people's daily lives. Paired with the previous explanation of "yes, and" the phrase appears to become a reminder of the way racism is truly ingrained into society and the lives of citizens. Racism has no turn-offs, no alternative routes; people of color and specifically black people have no choice but to face racism head on.

This explanation of the phrase's meaning seems to make sense for many of its next uses. It appears again on pages 16, 17, and 43 as part of separate small anecdotes of microaggressions, on pages 28, 29, 31, and 33 during the analysis of Serena Williams as well as page 62 during a reference to that same tennis match. Though some uses of the phrase are incredibly poignant, such as, "Yes, and the body has memory" on page 28; others are seemingly random inserted in the passage. This is not to say they are not impactful - they serve as consistent reminders that racism is unavoidable, but I cannot but help but wonder why Rankine chose those exact moments to give that reminder.

The phrase then disappears for over 100 pages as the book transitions from structured to abstract, from displaying racism to living it. It finally reappears again on page 151, once Rankine has again begun to recount various moments of daily racism. It is contextualized by a commentary on how internalizing racism has become the daily routine, culminating in the statement, "Yes, and this is how you are a citizen" (151). This use is especially significant and thought-provoking as it also includes the title of the book. Twice more the phrase appears, on pages 154 and 156 (note: I may have missed a mention or two, this may not be a complete list).

However, Rankine does an extremely interesting thing on the final page of the novel: she reverses the word order. In her final message to the reader, she states, "And yes, I want to interrupt to tell him her us you me I don't know how to end what doesn't have an ending" (159). This flip appears at (I believe) only one other point in the novel - page 112's opening line: "And yes, the inaudible spreads across state lines". Though the intent of the flip is less clear than that of the phrase use in the first place, it appears to signify an inability to express the racism that is universally felt. Still, I wonder if there is some deeper meaning or purpose to these flips, as I am certain that they were written with painstaking thought and direct intention. A writer such as Rankine would not have let both the motif and its inverting happen by coincidence.