Everyone needs me to vacuum, bungalows, apartments, Airbnb's, weekly, seasonally, every so often,

liberal, moderate, conservative, where I'm from, everyone needs me to vacuum.

I am from a Formica top-dynet table, around which the family argued.

March on Washington, extremism in defensive liberty, women's

lib, academic freedom, Vietnam, Stonewall.

I am from $40 every two weeks to feed 10 kids.

I am from the Bronx where I had to fight a lot because of my accent and my name.

I am from the things I remember and things I'd like to forget, and that is where I'm from.

It's Snotes from America, I'm Kai Wright, and welcome to the show.

This winter, we had a show about the police killing of Tiree Nichols in Memphis.

This was a tough conversation as we sometimes got to have if we're going to live in a functioning

democracy. And I acknowledged in that show that I didn't watch the video of the officers

beating Tiree. I long ago quit watching the snuff films of the news cycle. I just cannot do it anymore.

Anyway, after the show, one of you left me a voicemail on our website.

This listener, Dieppe Kuku, they said they understood. They don't watch the videos either,

and then offered me some advice. Listen to this.

I'm 47, and so I was in my development two years when I saw Rodney King, and I'm often taken

back to Amadou Jalo. What did he do other than try to come here and live the American dream?

For me, spoken world poetry has always been an outlet for those feelings of watching and having

to be exposed to these videos and having to continue with what we tell our young people,

not least with what we tell ourselves. So first off, thank you for that Dieppe K,

but also that advice turned to poetry. It got us thinking more broadly.

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