Little Scarlet By Walter Mosley Analysis

Walter Mosley has created a character that has evolved with each novel, Ezekiel “Easy” Rowlin’s, a forty five year old investigator practicing without a license in Los Angeles. The book, Little Scarlet takes place during the Watt’s Riots. A white detective, Melvin Suggs, not only extends a hand but also seeks assistance in solving the murder of Nola Payne, “Little Scarlet”. The story intertwines the aftermath of the Watt’s Riots with Easy Rowlin’s private investigation skills and his outreach to the local store owners. The Watt’s Riots of 1965 was a product of a Los Angeles community that faced years of long-lasting grievances, high unemployment rates, subpar housing and unsatisfactory school. After two white California Highway Patrol officers pulled over and arrested an African American young man for suspicion of driving under the influence, over three hundred spectators erupted in a violent exchange resulting in the costliest uprising of the Civil Rights Era. …show more content…
Being a sociology major here at Cal Poly and married to a police officer, I am continually processing the issues of inequality and race. In the majority of my classes I have learned and discussed how each race and class hold privileges and obstacles. I chose Little Scarlet by Walter Mosley because his writings coincide with the subject matters in which I am interested in and currently studying. We are continually reassured by the media how impoverished individuals of color often turn to violence in hopes to promote change in the aftermath of racial injustice, much like those involved in the Watts Riots. I am intrigued to read how an African American man helping a White man solve a murder will