Where Crime Belongs

Out of the three authors that have been read, Himes has done the best job of putting crime back where it belongs. Perhaps it is because he chose the most controversial racial group of all time. By putting crime in the heart of Harlem, Himes is saying that crime belongs to the black race and makes everything seem natural. Although there is one white character who is taking part in the crime of Cotton Comes to Harlem, he is overlooked and almost forgotten about. His crime also doesn’t fit in and gets away with it because he his white. Himes not only uses the setting of the book to convey this point, but also the black characters. Coffin Ed and Grave Digger say many times throughout the book that the people of Harlem are “hoodlems” and that they are the reason Harlem is the way it is. Himes takes it a step further and puts even more criminal activity on the black race. The two main cops in the book are black, and they are considered to be the ace detectives. However, both Ed and Digger break laws and help out criminals. So now the book has the criminal activity taking place in the heart of Harlem, but also has the two main black detectives characterized as crooked cops. Ed and Digger also believe that crime belongs to black people because of their “means justify the ends” attitudes. They treat their fellow citizens like crap and do not care what happens to them as long as they solve their case. Their attitude towards these “hoodlems” is also seen in the way they are so quick to shoot these criminals. In this book crime is committed by black people, covered up by black people, and is ramped in Harlem, the neighborhood of black people.