AP English IV students traveled up to Lawrence, Kansas to hear Claudia Rankine talk about her book “Citizen: An American Lyric.”

The students of English teacher Melissa Wilcox read the book for the class and were given the opportunity to compare what they thought about the book to what Rankine actually meant.

“Rankine’s speech mirrored my interpretation of the book,” senior Lauren Wyatt said. “I found the book to be pretty straightforward, but hearing her voice talk about the same concepts really made the book come to life.”

The book features real life experiences that Rankine and her friends went through and has art to go along with each story.

“The art on the cover is a black hood and when I read the book I thought it was in reference to the murder of Trayvon Martin,” senior Sydney Crawford said. “But actually the art was made two years before Trayvon was even born.”

Rankine’s book touches on micro-aggression scenarios, stereotyping and instances involving the police.

“I felt like the book had a great eye opening message that people need to hear about racism, both blatant and through micro aggressions,” Crawford said.

“Citizen: An American Lyric” relates to the issue of racism in today’s world. Though the book was released in 2014, social issues have been in the news often within the past year.

“I think that the book relates to today because racism still exists. I think that a lot of people recognize racism when it’s blatant, but when it’s subtle, they assume that there is another contributing factor and dismiss the idea,” Wyatt said. “Rankine’s inclusion of topics such as micro aggressions and media portrayals in her work shed light on a more disguised racism.”

Though this book is the required reading for freshmen attending the University of Kansas, Wilcox had both her senior and sophomore classes read this book.

“Citizen was a National Book Award Finalist in 2014 and has received all kinds of additional accolades. The subject matter speaks to the times and the format is interesting for an academic setting,” Wilcox said.