Southland

Racism is a major theme in the narrative, and one that takes on surprising dimensions by the novel’s end. The major plot of the narrative revolves around four black boys whom a police officer killed during the Watts riots 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. Although the murders took place during the riots, the deaths’ significant resurfaces 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 maintains a racist white cop named Nick Lawson most likely perpetrated. This reflects Lanier’s own prejudice towards whites, as the perpetrator was actually black.

Lawson was a violent officer who repeatedly beat Curtis, and his racism initiated the subsequent deaths of the four black boys. After Lawson targets the boys, under the assumption they plan to participate in the rioters’ destruction, he corners them inside

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