Racial Stereotypes and Policing

David Chariandy's novel shows how negative racial stereotypes that are portrayed in the media manifest in increased policing of black communities, which then sets in motion a feedback loop increasing the perception that black men are criminals. News coverage of dangerous black criminals is a recurring theme in the novel, from when Michael and Francis were young and scared by the "black murderers" (155) on the news, to the reactionary hysteria that followed Anton's shooting. After the shooting, the newspapers ran "updates, columns, letters to the editor" (72), some of which "called for a crackdown on crime, others for much more" (73).

Indeed there was a massive increase in police presence around Scarborough after the shooting. In one scene where Michael and Aisha leave the library, they see three cop cars in a row. It is mentioned multiple times that most young men were stopped by...