Police brutality
In every novella in the collection, there is at least one character who is a police officer and who is tasked with maintaining the peace. These officers are universally portrayed as being extremely violent, as abusing their power and as causing the death of the black characters. By portraying the police officers in a negative light, the narrator transmits the idea that the black people were in an extremely dire situation, risking being killed by the people who were tasked with protecting every other person except for them.
Giving up hope
In “Long Black Song”, the narrator describes Silas as a powerful man who refuses to accept he has no power over his life. Because of this, Silas does everything he can to provide for his family. His attitude changes drastically when he comes home one day to find his wife was raped by a white man. Upon learning about this, Silas transforms and gives up every shred of hope he had for the future. This loss of hope makes Silas act irrational which start a chain of events culminating in his death.
Black women
While the black community is portrayed as a whole as being abused by the white population, the black women suffer a lot more when compared to their male counterparts. Black women are portrayed as suffering both at the hands of the white people and at the hands of their own husbands who abuse them in a number of ways. Because of this, women are portrayed here as being the most disadvantaged and abused group.
Never losing hope
While most characters in the novellas as described as having given up on the possibility of a better life, there are still a few characters, like preacher Taylor, who refuse to accept they have to live a life filled with pain and suffering. Even though preacher Taylor is abused by the authorities, he continues to fight for what is right. The way in which preacher Taylor is portrayed is important because it shows that no matter the abuses which many blacks had to endure, there were still many who refused to give up hope, no matter what.
