Oral history interview with Claudia B. Rankine, 2021
Abstract
Claudia Rankine-an American poet, essayist, and professor-reflects on the presidency of Barack Obama. She focuses on the connections between cultural production and social and political change, and remembers her experiences of major events and developments that took place during the years of the Obama presidency, including Obama's March 18, 2008, "A More Perfect Union" speech in Philadelphia; Obama 's comments in the Rose Garden following the killing of Trayvon Martin; the 2014 killing of Michael Brown and protests in Ferguson, Missouri; and the emergence and growth of the Black Lives Matter movement. Rankine also discusses her intellectual and artistic output during the Obama years, and describes the inspiration for, and reception of, her book-length poem "Citizen: An American Lyric." Also discussed are the representational significance of the first family and Black officials in the Obama White House, the discourse of a post-racial America following Obama's 2008 election, Rankine's efforts to correct popular myths about American history through The Racial Imaginary Institute, the election of Donald Trump, and the historical importance of the Obama presidency to actions taken by the Biden-Harris administration
Social movements in art--United States; Art--Political aspects--United States; Presidents--United States; Black lives matter movement; Police shootings--United States; Poets; Rankine, Claudia, 1963-; Obama, Barack; Martin, Trayvon, 1995-2012; Brown, Michael, Jr., 1996-2014; Columbia University Alumni and alumnae
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2021
Physical Description
24 pages
Note (Biographical)
Claudia Rankine is a poet and essayist. At the time of the interview, she is the Frederick Iseman professor of poetry at Yale University. She is the author of a number of books including the award-winning "Citizen: An American Lyric," which was publis hed in 2014. Rankine was also awarded a MacArthur fellowship and founded The Racial Imaginary Institute
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on April 23, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Claudia B. Rankine, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022