Southland

Racism is a major theme in the narrative, and one that takes on surprising dimensions by the novel’s end. The main plot revolves around four Black boys killed by a police officer during the Watts Uprising in 1965. Officer Thomas, with his own internalized racism fueling him, locked the boys inside of a meat freezer and left them to die. The community at the time knew that racism had a part to play in the murders but refrained from reporting the crime to either the media or the police—evidence of the pervasiveness of racism, as the community did not believe the boys would get justice. Although the murders took place during the 1965 uprising, the deaths take on renewed significance in the ‘90s when one of the main characters, Jackie Ishida, attempts to locate Curtis Martindale. When Jackie meets Lanier, she learns about the murders, which Lanier blames on a racist white cop named Nick Lawson. Though Lawson’s actions make him appear to be a likely perpetrator, the reality is more surprising and even more indicative of the pervasiveness of anti-Black racism: These racist attitudes are so all-encompassing that they hold sway even within the minds of some Black people, including Officer Thomas, whose internalized racism led him to murder the boys.