Devil in a Blue Dress — A Response (Part 1)
Devil in a Blue Dress eloquently describes racism in 1948 Los Angeles. Although many African Americans fought in a war that was battling racism at it’s forefront, most, if not all African Americans, in the books case African American men, did not obtain the equality they believed they would receive after putting their lives on the line for the country and for the sake of democracy. Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins is a Louisanian through and through who traveled to Los Angeles to realize his dreams, one of which was to own a home. Something I imagine would have been difficult to obtain in Lousiana. Homeownership was a difficult path and likely not possible in the South where racism was experienced everyday in nonsubtle ways. That is not to say that Easy had it better in California as it is noted in the book but it was easier for him to gain employment and to save for his own home; property which would make him feel complete and like he made it. Unfortunately for Easy, his road to homeownership is stalled by the loss of his job and his inability to pay his house payment. He worries if he cannot find work soon the bank will come knocking at his door to take the house back. He therefore embarks on a journey with pay in order to make ends meet but he is met with various racially motivated obstacles that may not be caught immediately. The racism in the book is not aimed at a few individuals but instead African Americans and to some extent Latinos/Hispanics. I appreciate the depth as to which Mr. Mosley went to to create a story of a strong minority lead facing racist challenges in the late 1940’s.
Two reoccuring themes in the story that stuck out were racism and violence. Typically one was experience in hand with the other whether it was with Easy’s interactions with powerful white men or the police. As the book starts Easy notices a white man in a “off white linen suit and Panama straw hat” (Mosley, 45) in his friends bar. Immediately he is taken back to his encoutners in World War II where he interacted with “white men, and women, from Africa to Italy through Paris and into the Fatherland itself” (Mosley, 45). Easy’s memories likely hinted at the segregation he experience while fighting in World War II and how even then (in the books present) he was unable to escape the hand of white men. Easy alludes to have fought in the war bravely, however he fought with men that likely did not consider him fully human but as a beast. The aforementioned qualities were likely ones African Americans expereienced when returning home. It could be why some chose to leave their hometowns and migrate to cities such as Los Angeles. However, according to the book Los Angeles was still very much segregated after World War II and Easy felt “a thrill of fear” (Mosley, 45) seeing a white man in a likely African American part of town. It was uncommon for white men to go to African American bars and that is noted by Easy when he states that Joppy, his friend usually had African American clientele. I believe that was why fear struck him since it was uncommon to see a white man, Mr. Albright in those parts of town.
Easy’s initial intereactions with Mr. Albright are unsettling. I gained the sense that Mr. Albright believed himself powerful enough to just buy people to do his bidding. It may have been easier for him to use someone, an African American, because they were replaceable. This of course should not come as a surprise as many white folks in the early 20th century still viewed African Americans as beneath them, as less than. Mr. Albright essentially needs Easy to do his bidding something that reminded me of slaves during slavery. Maybe my thought may be a stretch or not but the similarities to me were there. Not to mention that Mr. Albright made Easy feel “nervous [since] he was a big man, and powerful by the looks of him. [Someone who] held his shoulders full of violence” (Mosley, 57). Violence which was used to control African Americans during slavery and still used after it as means to perpetuate absolute control and fear.
Easy felt fear whenever he interacted with police in the book. It was outwardly expressed but internally he was fearful what would happen to him when he was in the presence of them. Easy mentions in the book that he had “played the game of ‘cops and nigger’ before” (Mosley, 119) and it struck a nerve in me because I realized that often African American men are singled out for the color of their skin and the subconcious (or in some people concious) thoughts that are attached to them then and now. It’s not hard to believe that cops, likely white ones, were racially motivated when picking up African American men on suspicions. It’s also not hard to believe when the cops (white in the book) do not believe Easy when he tells the truth. They seem to think he has some ulterior motive to lie to them and become focused on catching him like a game of cat and mouse. This reminded me of how slave masters and the overseers would think that all their slaves lied to get out of trouble but for some reason the former always thought they were smarter than the latter. Easy’s experiences with the police hroughout the book is a negative one. He is always seen as hiding something and they resort to violence to attempt to put him in his place. Easy, however, always responds in a brave way as to save face and to put up a defiant fight against those who are opressing him.
What Easy experiences in the book is not exclusive to him. Various other African American characters get treated as less than and it shows how society at the time did not change even after fighting a war based on racism (even if some say it is for democracy). It was and remains difficult to change perceptions instilled from birth. And even harder to admit that you want to claim power over another person. Racism and violence as it pertains to the former are ways that society tries to keep in check the minorities and it is devastating to admit.
