“From Citizen, VI [On the train the woman standing],” Claudia Rankine

Even though African Americans gained a number of constitutional rights after the passage of the Thirteenth through Fifteenth Amendments following the American Civil War (1861­–1865), they still were not treated equally in Southern states or even nationally. Almost one hundred years later, during the post-World War II period, continued racial oppression, sanctioned by the segregation laws in the South and de facto segregation in the North, gave rise to the modern civil rights movement.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 sought to remedy inequality by prohibiting discrimination in schools, public facilities, and employment. Revisions to that act legally prohibited discrimination in other areas, such as housing and the work place. Despite these legal measures, racism and discrimination still persist in this country.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

• Poem at the Academy of American Poets website: From Citizen, "VI [On the train the woman standing]"
• Background on the poet at the Academy of American Poets website: Claudia Rankine
• "Incredible Bridges: Poets Creating Community," "VI [On the train the woman standing]" by Claudia Rankine version of this lesson is available from the Academy of American Poets.

• Ask students to write, draw, construct a word web, or some other form of collecting their thoughts in response to the following prompt: "Why might someone avoid sitting next to another person on a bus?"
• Small and large group discussions will likely include concepts such as prejudice, equality, and discrimination. Engage students in personal and small group reflection around the question "Why does prejudice exist?"  

• Provide a hard copy of Claudia Rankine's "VI [On the train the woman standing]” from Citizen, while students watch and listen to her read the poem provided here (video). 
• Analysis questions: In what way do the short stanzas and long lines inform the meaning of the poem? How does this structure make you think about the words?
• Ask your students how the responses they created before they read the poem relate to the poem itself. How do the feelings they identified in their reflections relate to the emotions expressed directly and indirectly in Claudia Rankine’s poem? What words and phrases does Claudia Rankine use to elicit those emotions in her readers? How does she use her voice and facial gestures to reinforce her words?
• What do students think this poem is about? Have them use detailed evidence from the poem to support their answers.
• Ask students to take on a perspective identified in the poem and think about a time they were in that situation. For example, when were they the person who chose not to go into a space or sit next to a person? Were they ever the person who was avoided? Have they made observations similar to what Rankine's poem is addressing?

• Students can choose to write their own poem, short story, or song; design a multi-panel cartoon or illustration; conduct an interview with a classmate about the situation they reflected on earlier in the class; or construct a digital collage using primary sources (including photographs) that includes examples that address the themes and issues raised in Rankine's poem. 
• Write a letter to the woman who did not sit down on the train or the man who was sitting on the train from the perspective of a person who was sitting a few seats away from the scene on the train. 
• Research another poem or short story that addresses similar issues and compare the two poems. Consider historical context, contemporary relevance, point of view, and tone.

• Ask students to design action steps they can take individually, with a partner, and/or in a small group that address issues of prejudice, discrimination, and equality in the school, community, or nationally.