Middle of the 20th century. Is been to world war. And to his whole view of himself in this world of community of potential has changed. He came back to southern texas and realized he could no on another because of what is born. And he and thousands of others southern black people from texas and louisiana have moved to los angeles. And we follow him as this kind of unofficial detective. He reveals what life is like in parts of los angeles had not been talked about. Host how did you come up with name. I was writing a story and a voice was speaking firstperson, and i was talking about this party that he was given and talking about how he was trying to pay money to raise his rent. And then he was talking about this woman who is in love with but she was in love with this other guy and then mouse comes in and looks at the person who is talking aces hey how you doing. And thats where he came from. Host what voices he supposed to represent. Walter what he represents is now the africanamericans, is one of the voice and the choir of america. Host did you sent out to use him as a vehicle for social commentary. Walter any good novel, delivering a great novel, but it any good it talks about any character, us to talk about that how that character is anchored in the culture and politics. If you dont do that, then you dont have a real character. It seems to me that everybody does that. What is different is not alone people were doing it with black male heroes. In doing it black male heroes, because of very strong cultural and social commentary. Not necessarily because that was my intention but it is because i was the only person doing it for quite a while. Host one review of your book rises about easy rawlins, once a black mans feelings are being honestly expressed in an detective literary form. Walter yup, that is true. As a traditional form. As this black character. Im not trying to take anything away from either of those things. Because otherwise, the people that im representing would be misrepresented. That is one thing i dont want to do. Host did you aim to set out to create this guy is a series. Speech of not necessarily, however, i had written in the book called gone fishing. It they were coming of age in the swamplands. All of the publishers said, is a wonderful book but not commercial. And if its a commercial because this is back in the late 80s. White people dont read about black people and black women dont like black men and black men dont read. As i kind of the notion. They liked the book but they thought they couldnt publish it. They were wrong but the fact that they were saying it made it true because they would not publish my book that i wrote another book. When i went to the publisher, they said this is great because they have black detectives now. But then they said, but we dont want to just buy one book we want to buy two. He said the decision was made with the publisher that was going to be a series. It was not my idea. But i liked it. Host you call him a hero. Any describe easy rawlins is a gun in one pocket and a chart using the other. Walter this is the thing. I think a lot of our heroes that are on battle fronts, is one of the battle fronts. They have to be willing to explode into violence and to defend themselves. But how they make decisions on whether or not an also to come to try to it. That is the point. In moby, the cook is throwing, off to the side and these sharks in his feeding frenzy theyre eating is. On the shelf selection them and says, angels are just sharks that have learned how to control their attitude. They dont have to be what they are. And i think that is what you have with your character also. Host where does a in blue dress take place. Speech of 1948 in los angeles. And it is an amazing event for change. Los angeles back man, 240,000 maybe 300,000 population and 100,000 people year are going to move into los angeles or Southern California from then until now. And the part of that was all these black people from southern texas and louisiana. This is an amazing amount of change. Or than anyplace else in the country. The city is building the ideas are building the culture is building. It the relationship between the races are building. It was a wonderful time. Host you say a world war ii veteran. What story are you trying to tell by making easy rawlins a world war ii veteran. Walter does an amazing change. For black people in america. It was for everybody. Like people, my father is from southern texas and louisiana. More my father story was he left to go to the war with about 100 people that he knew. And they were together pretty much all of the way through maybe ten or 12 of them died but most of them not from violence in the disease or an accident or whatever only god back to texas almost everyone he knew was dead already read in a realized that he was safer in the largest war in the history of the human race did and he wouldve been at home. And thats the thing moved him. Host when easy rawlins returns and he makes his way to texas. How is he treated. As he treated texas and housing treated in los angeles. Walter rationalism was institutionalized in the south. Different in different south but still institutionalized. For one thing is, there were no jobs that he could get. Whatever he learned and whatever his talents were, he was not going to get those jobs in texas or louisiana or tennessee or mississippi or alabama or anywhere else. So this is the first and probably the biggest problem. I cant make a deceit decent living predicates own anything. They cant be taken away from me. So that is the biggest problem. But still in los angeles, you have an extraordinarily races the Police Department. Said the police are going to stop you if you are seen in the car with a white woman. Mickey do pretty much anything they wanted to him. And he represents something that certain people want to hold down. And what theyre afraid of also. But theres a lot more opportunity inside of him. Any job you want. Really almost any job you what you can get. Nobodys ever going to take away your property for come for you. You never going to have signs and whites only. Host you talk about his vibration from texas to los angeles. This represents one of the great migration that is happening in our country. Why did you want to make the part of the story. Walter i am from los angeles. In the people and la, the black people in la are hard on Central Avenue where all of the major music of america fingers started there are moved through there. These peoples stories had much been told. So theres a giant part of los angeles history that had been left where nobody was going to talk about in the right about it. And you exist unless you exist and action. People like nonfiction but they dont usually pick it up. So it is better toe talk about it in a story pretty. Host devil in a blue dress. Youre right. All of them and john and half of the people that crowded room and migrated from houston after the war. California was like heaven to the southern negro. People told stars about how you could eat fruit right off of the tree and how he could make work. Life was still hard and nelly and if you work everyday, you still find yourself on the bottom. What work Race Relations like pretty you talked about it a little bit. Walter it was problematic Race Relations with the police. But also in the subconscious and unconscious of america, there was a notion for a very long time the best thing to be was to be white whatever that means. Was to be with his european culture. You are better even if you didnt work hard. You are better because of what you are. Not what you knew. If you are very smart, your ritual, or black or asian, people would look down on you. And they would make assumptions about what you could and couldnt do. I feuded better, and you should be able to do then there was anger and resentment. It was hard. Its so hard today but it was hard then for people to see what they were looking at without putting something on it that wasnt true. Host how is it for black men versus black women. Walter i think the black man, people are more afraid of black men, more afraid of the ring are also more afraid of what is happened to them. The response to women is usually not violent when something has been done venting abutment and is pretty select minivan kept out of the hero category. That is one of the things that i feel. Even in the greatest of black literature in america of the 20th century, the black characters work less heroes and more protagonist, people that Richard Wright wrote about almost anyone. He did not have the person to say oh, i want to be that guy. On him to protect me. Host you writing a book that something becomes an explanation. Walter i dont remember writing that sprayed was 20 years ago. But i think that people, want to hear it, i feel like i know that will yes, it is your labor being spent to make the videos rich. An interesting thing about that is is more true in the 40s and 50s the people of color suffered from working hard and not making enough. Today in america, everybody suffers from it. As wealth moves towards very small group of people that own everything, they dont care what color you are. They dont care, they will take advantage of you no matter what. And i think that americas response that come a lot of people responding to make a mistake in thinking it must be these other people who were not white. It must be their fault that happened. But is not of course. This false capitalism. Unchecked capitalism. Host s home is very important to him. What are you saying the conflict of ownership. Its not just in the easy rawlins series. A Small Business owner the bookstore nelly in 1950s this conflict of ownership. Who hasnt who doesnt and why isnt important. Walter if you go back to the beginning of america. The citizen had to be a property owner. Theres an investment, literal investment in the nation that you have assistantships with and i think is been true that if you are not a property owner, then your migrant. If your migrant, not that important. You cant vote. Many people dont Pay Attention to you. Maybe nate jerry and are you out of the existence. Their own property that cant be taken away from him. This is my land. Most people before the war were rural so that land means something. Whether or not your growing cotton, it means something. Just that fact that he has that little pot right there makes me citizen pretty. Host this is a mystery novel, crimes are committed. You wrote this in easy rawlins voice. I think what is wrong to have a man border. But the killer should be brought to justice but i didnt believe there was justice for negroes. I thought there might be some justice for black man if he had the money. Money is the closest to god that have ever seen in this world. Walter i wrote that. I thought of then and think it now. And i think that most people in america and when i wrote this book i think a lot of people thought there is justice. Injustices not based on how much money you have or who represents you are how popular you are. But benevolent people get it, they think yes, if i dont have money im not going to get a fair shake. If i dont have money and im black im really not going get a fair shake. Its a truism the black people in america and no the simpsons we came here is property. As time has gone on, many more people begin to understand it. The only understood in the appreciation of culture like the blues and certain elements of jazz. And also rhythm and blues. By this time is gone on, then went into literature and into general knowledge. Host was your motivation to talk about the Justice System and did choose the form of a mystery novel because of that as well. Walter i chose the form because i like mysteries. I read a lot of them. I like Raymond Chandler and others etc. Also started writing about it, the Justice System panama. Some like it was my goal to write it out. I think anybody reading my books would be able to make different decisions on things that have happened. He say why think this is right or wrong. So the fiction writer, im never try to tell you what you should think. I will tell you what easy rawlins thanks. Multi with the police who are stopping him thanks but im not going to tell you what you should think. Host i watch a book review of one of the easy rawlins book spring and the woman suggested to her audience, you really need to read the whole series. From beginning to end because otherwise you just pick up one book, you will now easy rawlins nose mouse or mama joe and she said, there be an index for how he knows everybody. Walter i like it that she said that. We as a means that they see a book they will read it. And you get real force of 14 of the brandnew like oh my gosh. I barely have time to read one. But another thing is you may not know the event that led up to easy rawlins relationship to mouse however, you do know how he knows nelson how he feels about him. And help mouse feels about easy. You know all of that because im writing a novel, no chapter. Host see you continue on and you obviously focused on easy rawlins and la. Your latest book down the river it takes place in new york with the former black nypd investigator. What inspired you to write this story and about this city for you are today in new york. Walter this was like a political spark that had me start writing the story. I am thinking about black men specifically. Baltimore baltimore maryland. And the man that people who got killed in san diego and one got killed in new orleans. Im thinking about a response to oppression. In a community that is usually not stopped about. But i will be walking down the street and up the police. Him and pushing him up against the wall and they frisk him and then hes just walking down the street and they letting go and then he walks a few more bucks and get stopped again. They make sure they never express that anger. Because if he does, then something bad will happen to him. If you add to that guy like he becomes a political activist or a journal, anybody who does that, makes movement, and get a target on the back of the front and on both sides. There is a target. Theyre very likely to be heard. What i wanted to do is create a detective who was a policeman. Even though we as black night, he was a policeman. So is not going to feel sensitive about these things. But as he investigates this case and he sees what happens, yet a shot of a doubt, he proves that this guy, he probably killed them. But they were definitely trying to kill him. And it was as far as he could tell, selfdefense. And what happens when you know Something Like that. And what kind of decisions are being made. This what i wanted to do this function is what i did. Host reminder viewers. Walter a political activist journalists in philadelphia who the police say that into a gun battle for families as he did not. Policeman or two died and sentenced to death. No for me, you kill somebody, then you should pay. With whatever the law as to say, you have to do. But if there are extenuating circumstances, you at least have to see them. Brewster of him was true for a lot of people here. Anybody watching this thing in new orleans. We see somebody on top of somebody in their knee is hauling them down. Then shooting him, you think will there something wrong with this picture. Policeman should never be doing that. Never. If it does happen, then you have to wonder what everybody is going to be thinking and feeling and how they are going to respond. And that is what the novel addresses. Host did you speak to mia minute you did not. So how do you then grab from that story or any story that you try to incorporate the writing. Walter stories are story. I think more than anything else, that was being interviewed, he lived in one complex and another one here. Public housing, two different gangs. When policeman came and started bringing the Children Together so the children, canales play football together and could slowly work some stuff out. One of the guys was asked, where children were playing, what you think about this. He says have amazing to me that the police are, im used in the police, and grabbing come of the foaming handcuffs and the beaming the term in jail. That is what my relationship with the places. This was like a general knowledge. Not just among black people. Mom should, chicanos and all of the different people and white people among in america. The Police Become people are trying to force you to fit inside in order that may not be conducive to your life. Because of that, you have to write about it. Sit in the river, even though some of these black guys, it is about complex america. An understanding that american it goes back to the issue about how much money you have in his protecting you and taking care of you. In him feels a certain way. Host john woman is your next book due out september. What is it about. Walter is a novel about a guy who is a historian. Stars when he was a kid and growing up, because the guy. Self defense because the gun. And it completely recreates himself. So he was, he doesnt have the same name, he does have the same birth certificate. He doesnt have anything the same. But he becomes what is done pretty bleak becomes a deconstructionist. His following him through this path of how he sees himself in the world around him. How he teaches. They discovers things about himself. One of the things he discovers see is a social path. That is helped him in america become successful. One of the things i believe, if there is something wrong with you, your social path of any sort, you probably be more successful in america. If you arent. Host publishers respond to or die ideas that are not in easy rawlins book. Walter they hate it. I stand going to write a book like john woman or a dream or all of these books that i have written. And someone i want to give him that but they say no. So i go to another publisher. And i sat if you publish this one already in the blistering is it okay. And they gets published in the mystery in the name of the book they said no, only mystery snow and then a return of the publisher. Its gone on forever. Host youve written a lot of books. To the characters in the book reflect people in your life. Walter is a hard question. Obviously in some way but i dont write about myself or people i know. I dont write about my mother and my father but i do write about world center our experiences and such. So the way but mostly no. Host whose raiment alexander and how did you come up with the idea of his character. Walter is an interesting character for me. I was a kid my father had a friend who he was just as crazy as mouse. He made a living doing was something so one of them was hijacking liquor trucks. So he would hijack a liquor truck and get a hundred cases of whiskey. He would bring against my father. Namesake hold this for a week for me. Of course my mother put away but then so be looking over niece and i have some whiskey year. Did he would follow the ball drink it. The navy another party would happen then there