John Henryism: The Impact of Racism and Inequality

“There exists this medical term- John Henryism- for people exposed to stresses stemming from racism. They achieve themselves to death trying to dodge the buildup of erasure.”1 People who live with this constant stress have the sense that they need to work extraordinarily harder for their accomplishments to be recognized, and prevent the erasure of their entire life meaning. In the book Citizen: An American Lyric, Claudia Rankine describes her personal encounters of racism and inequality, and its ceaseless recurrence proves that both ideologies are still thriving today. Whether it be from a stranger, or a close friend, attacks on her person and identity are a repetitive manifestation in her everyday life. Rankine often refers back to the themes

She describes the conversation she had with a classmate on their way to school, where she was asked to lean to the right so the classmate would be able to copy off of Rankine. Although this happened quite some time ago, and Rankine cannot remember the minor details, such as the girl’s name, what was said to her has been remembered. “She tells you you smell good and have features more like a white person.”2 Rankine assumes that the girl says this to make herself feel better about cheating from a black person, as if someone who is black is beneath her. Not only is it insulting that this child believes that Rankine is beneath her based solely on her skin color, or that Rankine should be appreciative that she has these features instead of loving her own personal beauty, but by saying that Rankine has “features more like a white person” also takes away her individuality as a black woman. By saying this, it almost like telling Rankine that she is unable to look a certain way if she is black and insinuates that her race and her features do not go hand in hand. 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 her and her black skin are going to be measured beneath those who have white