“There is this medical term – John Henryism – for people exposed to stress resulting from racism. They realize themselves to the point of death trying to dodge the accumulation of cancellations. In the book Citizen: An American Lyric, Claudia Rankine describes her personal encounters with racism and inequality, and its incessant recurrence demonstrates that both ideologies are still thriving today. Whether it is a stranger or a close friend, attacks on his person and his identity are a repetitive manifestation in his daily life. Rankine often refers to the themes. She describes the conversation she had with a classmate on the way to school, where she was asked to lean to the right so the classmate could copy Rankine. Even though this happened quite a long time ago and Rankine can't remember minor details, like the girl's name, what she was told was remembered. “It tells you that you smell nice and have features more like a white person.”2 Rankine assumes that the girl says this to make herself feel better about cheating on a black person, as if someone who is black is inferior to her. Not only is it offensive that this little girl believes that Rankine is inferior to her based solely on the color of her skin, or that Rankine should appreciate the fact that she has these characteristics instead of loving her personal beauty, but by saying that Rankine has “more characteristics similar to a white person” also takes away her individuality as a black woman. By saying this, it's almost like telling Rankine that she can't look a certain way if she's black and implying that her race and features don't go together. This comment not only teaches Rankine at a young age that she should be grateful that a white girl likes the way she looks, but that she and her black skin will be measured lower than those who have white.