SURVEILLANCE: The Speaker, Who is Black, Clarifies the Public’s Euphemisms

Accountability (see m)
1. a measure of responsibility, The officer is accountable to the taxpayer; 2. quota; Officers
are accountable for their body counts when the taxpayer is watching; 3. a measure of guilt
Impunity (variation of imp)
1. forgivable childlike mischief; 2. permission
Violence (from the color violet or dark red stain)
1. to bleed or bloom quickly; 2. a trait, The Black body is violence; it does not entertain

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For 10 weeks, we will feature one poem per week from Surveillance, the new chapbook forthcoming from Writ Large Press. These poems by Ashaki M. Jackson explore police killings of Blacks captured on video and the public’s consumption of these videos. Previous poems: 123, 4

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