doi:10.7916/zavx-rs14Oral history interview with Claudia B. Rankine, 2021Rankine, Claudia, 1963-oral historiesmixed materialSocial movements in art--United StatesArt--Political aspects--United StatesPresidents--United StatesBlack lives matter movementPolice shootings--United StatesPoetsRankine, Claudia, 1963-Obama, BarackMartin, Trayvon, 1995-2012Brown, Michael, Jr., 1996-2014Columbia University Alumni and alumnaeClaudia 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