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

Rock Solid Journalism

In 2026, amid chaos and the nonstop flurry of headlines, Truthdig remains independent, fact-based and focused on exposing what power tries to hide.

Support Independent Journalism.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG