Housing

In A Few Red Drops, housing symbolizes not security but the lack thereof in Chicago in 1919. In places like the Black Belt, housing was so scarce that families were forced to compete against each other to outbid the competition and secure a place to live in peace. Those who could not afford it were left to seek smaller, poorer lodgings. In Packingtown, too, housing was in short supply, leading to overcrowding, illness, and resulting in many deaths. Housing, rather than representing a safe space, in this book represents insecurity and poverty.

Black Skin

Black skin, somewhat obviously, represents 'otherness' in A Few Red Drops. No matter how long black families have been in Chicago or what professions they hold, high-brow or low-brow, Hartfield writes that white people treated them all the same. This is particularly evident in the chapter titled "Respectability and Respect," where Southern blacks...