Rincon 1

Cassandra Rincon Rosales ENG 100 6 December 2013 Voices Heard During our lifetime, we all witness a crime that causes injustice and is a result of discrimination. Most of the time we see a crime committed, we dont always get to see the full story behind it. It is heartbreaking to know that there are still people out there in the world who judge and discriminate against people of a different race. The novel Southland by Nina Revoyr; shows us the life of a young woman named Jackie Ishida and her journey of discovering who she is. We also learn about the history of her family and the events that change their lives. In the novel Southland, Nina Revoyr gives a voice to the Asian and African American population in Los Angeles during the time of injustice, discrimination and the Rodney King riot. The novel Southland introduces us to a story about a woman named Jackie Ishida; she is on a mission to figure out what exactly happened the day the workers in her grandfathers store were murdered. She also discovers that her grandfather was having in an affair with the young African American boy named Curtis mother. Frank was very fond of the young boy and took care of him as if he was his son. Jackie discovers that the money left behind from her grandpa after he passed was left for Curtis. As Jackie was uncovering the whereabouts of Curtis, she finds he had passed away. She also finds that he was one of the victims murdered at the store, but the question was who killed them and where are they?

Rincon 2

Within the book there are scenes that show examples of racism and discrimination. There is chapter 13, where Frank, Jackies grandpa, finds Curtis badly beaten and left behind the store. He asks Curtis who had beaten him, but Curtis did not want to say. He then helps Curtis back into the store and takes care of him. When Frank finds a time to report the crime, he meets a very rude cop named Lawson, who talks to Frank as if he was nobody. Lawson also treats the situation as if it is not his problem, he did not care what had happened to young Curtis. Lawson rudely says to Frank, What do you care, grocery man? Hes just a little N***** punk.(155) Frank tries to tell the cop that he should do his job and that it is a serious situation. The cop just replies to him the same, well, dont. I dont tell you how to rearrange your f****** vegetables.(155) Many people might have been in a similar situation as Frank, he was being discriminated by the police because of the color of their skin. Frank just wants to report a crime that happened to a boy, it should not matter what color of skin he is, he deserves the right to get justice. I feel that Revoyr gives Frank and Curtis a voice in this scene because some people might not want to hear what they have to say. She lets them tell their story of how they were treated and she gives us a picture of what it would have been like in those days when minorities couldnt get the help they needed. In another part of the book it talks about the murders of the young workers in Franks store. David, Gerald, Curtis, and Tony are the name of the boys who were killed in the freezer of Franks store. Just like many stories of no justice, these murders were looked over with no effort, nobody knew who did it and nobody cared. These young men were robbed of their life and none of the police cared to help find out who did it. Jackie and James try to figure out who did it, because the person they thought who did it didnt add up to the story.

Rincon 3

They come to find that the murderer was Robert Thomas, an African American man who was brainwashed to think he was better than his own race. He made the boys go into the freezer and there they passed away from the cold. When the book mentions the riot, it gives thought to the many of events that went on during that time in real life. Rodney King was a young African American man who was badly beaten, just like Curtis in the book, and was given no justice from the law. In the book, Reading Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising by Robert Gooding-Williams, it talks about how, The not-guilty verdict rendered in the police-brutality trial was also only the most recent in a series of cases in which the decisions emanating from the criminal justice system were widely perceived in the black community to be grossly unjust.(121). Just like in Southland, police brutality was over looked and the murders of the young boys were never solved until Jackie reopened the case with James. Years of poverty, culture clashes and police brutally had finally hit its boiling point in Southland and in 1992 South Central. Nina Revoyr paints us a picture of what a family during these times might have went through. She lends the people a voice through her fictional characters and lets us see what we might not have before. During this time many different cultures were going through some difficult times, people were getting hurt, some killed and many businesses were ruined. The people needed to be heard, the only way they can get their point across was to riot.

Rincon 4

Southland by Nina Revoyr lends a voice to the people who needed to be heard during that time of racism and injustice. Although this novel might be fictional, it also includes many events that were historical. It gives us a view of what it was like to live during the years were the color of your skin determined how you should be treated. Not only was African Americans being treated with such horrible manner, many Asian Americans and Mexican Americans were treated the same. Jackie and her Grandpa Frank lived eventful lives and they showed us how different events in your life can shape you to be the person you are today. Nina Revoyr captured the sadness and drama that overcame the people who were judged and mistreated in the history of Los Angeles.