Character Diversity in The Crosses

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Character Diversity in The Crosses

Prior to 1960, American media, including textbooks, portrayed historical development primarily as white and male, a practice of lies that’s experiencing a politically-backed resurgence today. But history is the product of a human rainbow — good, bad, smart, stupid, female, male, black, white, red, yellow, gay, straight, bi, trans, and everything in between. The world was and is a complex place in which every category of person contributes, right and wrong, good and bad.

Few pre-1960 general audience movies featured an African-American protagonist in a position of power or a Native American depicted as civilized and smart. The 1958 release, The Defiant Ones, is an important exception. The Lone Ranger’s “Tonto” may also come to mind, but the word Tonto is a Spanish term meaning “stupid” or “crazy." The term “Kemosabe,” Tonto’s name for the Lone Ranger, is derived from the Ojibwe and Potawatomi word gimoozaabi, translated as “trusty scout” or “faithful friend.” Despite popular whitewashing of history, Native Americans, African-Americans, and all immigrant groups have been involved in and contributed to every aspect of American society and development. 

Bonnie and I were determined The Crosses would reflect the reality of 1925 life, including language, racial diversity, and political climate. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle doesn’t mention in the original Holmes stories the race of any Baker Street Irregular (BSI) or whether membership includes females. We suspect the gang mirrored the greater society with both male and female members — whites, West Africans, East Indians, and Chinese. After all, homelessness and criminality don’t discriminate based on cultural or genetic definitions.

The U.S. Southwest’s racial and social diversity during the late 19th and early 20th centuries comprised a mix of Native Americans, indigenous and European Mexicans, African Americans, Chinese immigrants, and white Europeans. The female protagonist, newspaper publisher and former Pinkerton agent, Bessie de la Paz, embodies the area’s two primary racial groups with a caucasian mother and indigenous Mexican father, both shunned by whites and tribal members alike for choosing to marry. Rather than allow social reaction to beat them down, her parents are resilient and determined, qualities they instill in Bessie who uses her diversity to excel in every challenge she faces, breaking glass ceilings to establish foundations on which others will build a better future.

We based the novel’s deputy, Orren Stokes, in part on the real-life lawman, Bass Reeves. Reeves was one of the first African-Americans to serve as a U.S. Marshall and had a long and storied career. Orren is the son of a former slave who flees the South after Orren’s mother and newborn die in childbirth. Orren and his father settle in the Las Cruces area, working on tribal farms eventually to earn enough money to buy their own place. Like Reeves, Orren becomes fluent in several indigenous languages, building trust among various tribes, leading to his desirability to Pinkerton where he and Bessie meet. 

In early notes, Bonnie wrote, “Need to give the BSI & young woman a history. What kind of education, experiences, upbringing would be usual for the time and country of origin? I think the BSI would be 8-10 years old at the time of first appearance in Sherlock Holmes stories. Would it be better to have the relationship between BSI & young woman romantic or familial? I’m leaning toward familial. Perhaps BSI is orphaned and this young woman and her family become the family he never had. The BSI could take on the role of defending Holmes & Watson. This could provide comic relief and also serve as an illustration of the handing over the reins of world power from U.K. to U.S.…”

Bonnie initially envisioned Ben as a journalist, arriving in San Francisco to work with a female American journalist on a number of cases that would be gathered into a collection of short stories, but we decided to concentrate on a novel-length tale instead. That’s when the characters experienced various transformations and the setting shifted to Las Cruces. Instead of a journalist, Ben became a renowned detective carrying on the Holmes tradition. Bessie became a former Pinkerton agent who’s now the publisher of the local newspaper. The two strike an immediate friendship that strengthens quickly, due in part to the case, in part to the personal challenges Bess faces.

Upcoming posts will explore more about the characters, the crime that has brought them together, and the literary easter eggs throughout the novel. Blog entries appear on https://windpoemcreative.blogspot.com, https://csfuqua.com/blog, Goodreads, and Facebook. The Crosses will be available from Amazon, B&N, other booksellers, and directly from the publisher, MX Publishing.