Claudia Rankine: Because White Men Can’t Police Their Imaginations, Black Men Are Dying (Video)
In an NPR interview, the poet discusses race in America and reads a poem she wrote in the aftermath of the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, who were shot and killed by police officers.
In an NPR interview, the poet discusses race in America and reads a poem she wrote in the aftermath of the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, who were shot and killed by police officers.
Here is a short haiku she wrote after a visit to Ferguson, Mo., in 2014:
Because white men can’t police their imaginations, black men are dying.
The interview below mentions the poem “Stop and Frisk,” which you can listen to Rankine read in the clip above the NPR recording.
— Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata
Rooted in Truth.Independent by Design.
Your support helps ensure that rigorous reporting, thoughtful analysis, and investigative journalism remain accessible to everyone.
Support independent journalism.
Related Stories
Discussions of gun violence and the regulations needed to curb it are incomplete unless they include an analysis of how racism plays a role.
Louisiana's attorney general rules out criminal charges against two Baton Rouge police officers in the death of a black man during a struggle outside a convenience store in 2016.
With police killings of unarmed black men almost a weekly occurrence in the U.S., we must not let our trauma weaken our resolve to insist on—and organize for—racial justice.
In an opinion piece published by The Guardian, the scholar and activist explains how the president has failed to confront systemic racism and how this legacy will haunt the country.
It may take years to fully appreciate how dramatically this presidency has bent the arc of history toward justice.
Support for Black Lives Matter does not equal support for killing police officers, obviously.
Discussions of gun violence and the regulations needed to curb it are incomplete unless they include an analysis of how racism plays a role.
With police killings of unarmed black men almost a weekly occurrence in the U.S., we must not let our trauma weaken our resolve to insist on—and organize for—racial justice.
In an opinion piece published by The Guardian, the scholar and activist explains how the president has failed to confront systemic racism and how this legacy will haunt the country.
It may take years to fully appreciate how dramatically this presidency has bent the arc of history toward justice.
Support for Black Lives Matter does not equal support for killing police officers, obviously.