Southland

Jimmy (James Lanier) goes to church with Alma and her sons, Curtis and Cory. He’s wearing one of Cory’s suits, and he feels like part of the family. Curtis hears churchgoers talking about Black Muslims who were gunned down that week. Jimmy “really didn’t know what a Black Muslim was” (69), though he listened to people both for and against the militant stance of Malcolm X. He also recalls seeing Black people on buses “on TV, from Nashville, Montgomery, Birmingham, Jackson” (70), and the drama unfurling around the country, although he doesn’t understand any of it. He also doesn’t go to church much, so he takes his cues from Curtis as to when to interact and sing during the sermon. Afterward, Alma greets people outside, and a man named Victor Conway comes up to her. The two have a relaxed conversation, even though Alma is married. She’s also one of the most beautiful women in town, and Jimmy wonders at the two as they walk ahead and make small yet intimate talk. Jimmy listens as Curtis and Cory make fun of a few people.

When the group reaches the house of Kenji Hirano, a Japanese American man with a mental illness, he begins talking about the traffic on Crenshaw, even though Hirano can’t see Crenshaw from his porch anymore.