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Crook Manifesto
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Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “Ringolevio (1971)”
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary
Content Warning: This guide contains references to guns and gun violence. In addition, one prominent character’s name is a racial slur. This slur is reproduced in the guide wherever the character’s name appears.
Ray Carney owns a successful furniture store in Harlem, and although he is a legitimate businessman, he once also fenced stolen goods. Ray’s furniture store is located in an area of Harlem that has been for many years in a state of flux. Initially a Jewish neighborhood, it was for a time the largest Italian settlement in New York before gradually becoming the epicenter of Black culture in America. Ray and his business have been at the heart of this change: Initially a renter, Ray was eventually able to purchase the building where his store was located from his Italian landlord, who himself had bought the property from its previous owner, a Jewish businessman exiting the neighborhood for a more sedate suburban location.
Ray then reflects on his son, John, and daughter, May, both of whom are invested in racial equality and closely follow the news for information about the Black Panthers, the Black Liberation Army, and the social unrest that each group foments. On this particular day, Ray and his children are gathered around the Times reading an article about a recent police shooting. Two young men affiliated with the Black Liberation Army have taken responsibility for the shooting. They are still at large, and the noticeable police presence in the neighborhood that morning is part of their manhunt.
Ray, his wife, Elizabeth, and their two children form a close-knit family, and when May asks for tickets to a sold-out Jackson 5 concert, Ray promises to obtain them for her. He first asks his employee Larry, who has connections in the music industry, but Larry is unable to help. After running through a string of old acquaintances, he finally calls Munson, a crooked cop he knows from his days as a fence, who often bragged about having access to the hottest concerts in town.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary
Munson asks to meet with Ray, and Ray takes the train back into the part of Harlem where he and Elizabeth lived during the early days of their marriage. Because of the success of both his furniture store and his criminal enterprise, he and Elizabeth were able to buy a nicer apartment on the much more desirable Striver’s Row. He meets Munson in a squalid apartment and takes note of the officer’s change in appearance: The formerly solid, well-built man has softened over the years, has lost muscle mass, and looks “harrowed.” Ray speculates that the free drinks and comped dinners available to the crooked officer have taken their toll. Munson shows Ray a crumpled paper bag full of stolen diamonds, and Ray realizes that Munson expects a quid pro quo: He will find Jackson 5 tickets for Ray if Ray finds a buyer for the stolen diamonds. Although he has sworn off illegal activity, Ray agrees to just one sale so he can keep his promise to May.
Having been out of the game for so long, Ray has few remaining contacts. Most of the men with whom he traded in stolen goods have retired, died, or been imprisoned, and he only has one lead. Some time back, a man named Martin Green came into his store, purchased a wall feature, and left his business card in case Ray ever had any stolen goods to move. Ray took a liking to Martin and, although he had no plans to return to his life of crime, kept his card.
Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary
Ray meets Martin Green at his home on New York’s Upper East Side. When Ray arrives, Green immediately agrees to look at the stones. Although he admires them, he refuses to buy the diamonds. They were part of a recent, high-profile heist rumored to have been the work of the Black Liberation Army. He wonders about Munson’s involvement with the Black Liberation Army, speculating that he either worked with them or robbed them. Either way, this is not going to be an easy sale. On his way home, Ray again notes the general decline of the neighborhood. Lost in thought, he does not see the blow as it is coming: He is knocked into a parked vehicle by a large man whom he recognizes as Munson’s crooked partner Buck Webb. Webb is an archetypal corrupt, white police officer whom Ray remembers from his years of association with Munson. Webb takes the diamonds from Ray, leaves, and instructs Ray to have Munson call him so they can “straighten it out like two white men” (39).
Part 1, Chapter 4 Summary
Ray returns to find Munson looking as though he’d just been in a fight and obviously half-sedated. Munson explains that he “tangled” with someone during a collection. Initially contemplative, Munson recalls playing “ringolevio” as a boy in Hell’s Kitchen. The game is a sort of cops-and-robbers version of tag, where two teams of equal players try to catch and jail one another. The team who jails the highest number of players from the opposition wins. Munson is not surprised to hear that Buck Webb has assaulted Ray and taken the diamonds, and he proceeds to explain the origin of the stones to Ray. He asks if Ray knows what a “pad” is. In this context, a pad refers to an organization system developed by New York City police to fairly distribute bribes to various members of the force based on their rank, salary, and role within the complex network of crooked policing. Although the NYPD had successfully operated their pad for many years, a recently lodged complaint resulted in the formation of the Knapp Commission, an investigative body tasked with rooting out corruption on the force. (This incident is historically accurate, and the complaining officer, Frank Serpico, is one of the most famous whistleblowers in police history—the eponymous subject of a classic 1973 film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino.) Munson explains that Buck Webb recently received a subpoena from the Knapp Commission and was furious that Munson had not received one as well.
Munson and Buck had been tipped off to the location of Black Liberation Army members who were suspects in a recent police shooting. After staking out the building, the officers were able to gain access to the unit. There, they found a duffel bag full of cash and the haul from a recent diamond heist. They bring the money and stolen goods back to an apartment they keep for illicit activity, but on the way they are identified by Malik Jamal, a prominent member of the BLA. Because their identities are now known, it will be difficult to sell the diamonds.
Notch Walker, local gangster and BLA member, has put the word out that Munson and Buck will be looking to unload the diamonds. This is why Munson approached Ray: He knew that his only chance was using a man who, because of his four-year hiatus, would be an unknown on the current scene. Munson promises to talk to Buck and tells Ray that if Ray gives him a ride home, he will provide the concert tickets and release him from all further involvement in the sale of the stolen diamonds. Ray is dubious, but he has no choice but to comply.
Part 1, Chapter 5 Summary
Ray and Munson are on their way to meet Buck. Munson tells Ray that he plans to give Buck his share of the heist and smooth things over. Looking out the window, Ray sees a burned-out building and recognizes the address as that of a former customer. Munson notices Ray examining the building and informs him that it was part of an inside arson job. Ray is familiar with such schemes, in which an unprofitable building is burned down so that its owners can collect the insurance money. Ray’s father was involved in several such arsons during Ray’s childhood. It is a not a new racket, but the uptick in such fires is, to Ray, a further indicator of the city’s decline.
Ray asks Munson about Notch Walker. Munson tells Carney that Walker is involved in drugs, guns, gambling, and sex trafficking. Munson then asks Ray if he’d played ringolevio as a child. Ray scoffs at Munson’s ignorance and tells him that Harlem “isn’t a foreign country” (56). Ray had loved the game and meditates on the role that its particular spin on cops-and-robbers had played in his childhood. Lost in thought, Ray is soon startled by the muzzle flash from Munson’s gun. Munson has just fatally shot his partner. Returning to the car, he remarks drily that the conversation hadn’t gone as planned. Driving away, he informs Ray that Ray is his new partner.
Part 1, Chapter 6 Summary
Munson then takes Ray to an illegal, after-hours poker game run by Corky Bell. Corky’s game operates out of the Aloha Room, a defunct tiki bar now reserved for private parties. Although once Harlem institutions, both the Aloha Room and Corky are past their prime; Corky began operating in 1957 and no longer runs this game as often or as skillfully as he once did. During its glory days, no one would have disturbed the “natural order” in Harlem by robbing Corky Bell. But for this particular game, he hired a third-rate bouncer who, because he is distracted by the free food and his daydreams, fails to immediately notice Munson and Ray as they enter. Many people in the Aloha Room recognize Munson, and Corky angrily informs him that the police have already been bribed. Munson, however, is working alone and demands the money anyway. Noticing that Munson is clearly high on something, Corky complies. Munson and Ray leave, but Munson pistol-whips Corky on the way out the door, and several of the players think that they recognize Ray. They cannot quite place him, but Ray remembers them as former customers.
Part 1, Chapter 7 Summary
In the car on the way to their next stop, Munson tells Ray that he plans to skip town. Doing so has long been his endgame, but because he’s been subpoenaed by the Knapp Commission and has come upon the unexpected windfall of the recent BLA heist, he will leave sooner than he anticipated. He has a few more “errands” and then wants Ray to drive him to the airport in Philadelphia. Ray wonders whether he has just been made an accessory to murder and wishes he could call his lawyer. He doubts Munson will let him go at the end of his crime spree and recalls his father’s death at the end of a series of events similar to this one. Munson’s next stop is a group of flamboyantly dressed pimps, one of whom he savagely beats before leaving. He does not rob the man: “The beating was the point” (74).
Munson then leaves Ray in the car while he storms the Bottle Club, a local bar. Ray can’t see inside, but a throng of people flock from the exit before Munson himself runs out the doors with a bank pouch. Their next stop is Clyde’s Barber Shop, a popular Harlem institution that is a front for Chink Montague, a local gangster. Montague uses the shop to run his numbers racket, and the shop is sure to be full of cash. When the two men enter the shop, Ray is apprehensive. He knows Chink Montague from his days as a fence and hopes that the man isn’t there. Montague is ruthless, and Ray worries about being recognized in the shop. Montague’s men are as surprised to see Munson as Corky Bell had been, and the robbery does not go smoothly. One of the men, Popeye, throws a pot of boiling greens, scalding Munson. Another man, Earl, hurls a chair at Munson. Munson first shoots Popeye in the leg, knocking him down, and then fatally wounds him as he and Ray leave.
Part 1, Chapter 8 Summary
They return to one of Munson’s safe houses so that Munson can count his money and meet a man from whom he is buying new identity papers. Ray asks when Munson decided to kill his partner, and Munson responds that Buck “wasn’t the same man” and would have been “broken” by the Knapp Commission (86). Munson had chosen to shoot him rather than risk being informed upon. Not wanting to count the money in front of Ray, Munson sends him out to get beer and sandwiches. It is after midnight and the streets are deserted.
Ray returns. He and Munson eat their sandwiches while Munson tells Ray about the Ukrainian forger who is en route with his new identification. The forger arrives, but when Munson rises to let him in, Notch Walker and two of his men burst through the door. Ray recognizes the men as BLA by their berets, and he realizes that one of them is Malik Jamal, a prominent BLA member and the man who recognized Munson after his initial heist. At this point, the narrative flashes back and fills in some additional, important details from Ray’s trip to get sandwiches. At the store, he’d called a former contact from his days as a fence and tipped off Notch Walker. Sure that Munson meant to kill him, he’d instead sold Munson out. Walker’s men escort Munson down the stairs. On his own way out a few moments later, Ray sees a white envelope among Munson’s things: It contains two tickets to the Jackson 5 show.
Part 1, Chapter 9 Summary
Although May and Elizabeth planned to attend the Jackson 5 show together, a weather-related crisis at Elizabeth’s work prevents her from going, and Ray instead accompanies his daughter. The two enjoy the show; Munson has scored “primo” seats. Later, Notch Walker visits Ray at work and the two do a quick deal to move some Panerai watches. Notch asks Ray if he pays protection to Chink Montague to operate. When Ray responds in the affirmative, Notch adds “for now.” A few days later, one of Montague’s properties is firebombed. Ray observes that the power structure is changing again in the neighborhood. The two BLA men responsible for shooting police officers are apprehended. Life moves on in Harlem.
Part 1 Analysis
Part 1 introduces the protagonist, Ray Carney, and, through its use of symbolism and motif, begins to engage with each of the novel’s primary themes. The title refers to the game of ringolevio, also known as ring-a-levio, a cops-and-robbers children’s game that has been popular across New York City since at least the 19th century. In the game, organized teams try to catch and “jail” members of the opposing team. At the end of each round, the roles are reversed: The previous round’s robbers become the new cops. Ray and Munson are both familiar with the game. Speaking of his own youth, Ray remembers: “the usual New York City childhood: stickball, ringolevio, and bullet-riddled corpses” (60). Ringolevio provides more than cultural context, however. It is a metaphor for the novel’s most overt and important theme: The Situational Nature of Morality. In the world of Crook Manifesto, categories of “good” and “bad” are always shifting, and anyone can find themselves on either side of the line dividing the law-abiding citizen from the criminal. Morality, codes of ethics, and the ability to tell right from wrong are situational. In the game of ringolevio, “You were a cop and then a robber and then a cop again. It didn’t matter how you saw yourself, you were both at the same time” (59). Like the players in a game of ringolevio, each of this text’s primary and secondary characters shift their ethical allegiances: They glide seamlessly between the roles of law-abiding citizen and criminal. Ray perfectly embodies this duality, in that he is at times an upstanding businessman and at other times a fence for stolen goods. That he does all of this in the name of better supporting his family is important, because it complicates rigid notions of good and bad, right and wrong: In this world, the criminals (like Ray and Pepper) are often acting in the best interests of others, while the police officers and politicians (like Munson and Oakes) are often up to no good.
Family is Ray’s most deeply held value—one that he remains committed to even as his allegiance to other values is revealed as conditional. Having had a troubled childhood, Ray is determined to provide a different experience for his own children. He is also a devoted and supportive husband. He loves his wife, Elizabeth, respects her work ethic and intelligence, and actively encourages her in her career. In Harlem Shuffle—the first novel in the series—Ray and his family live in an apartment in a socioeconomically depressed part of the city. Ray uses the money he makes from both his legitimate and illegitimate businesses to purchase a nicer home on the affluent Striver’s Row. His children, John and May, are smart, hardworking, and possessed of a social consciousness that drives them to follow the racial-justice movements of the 1970s. John is growing like a weed, has a dry sense of humor, and in many ways reminds Ray of himself. May, like so many teenage girls of her era, loves the Jackson 5 to the point of obsession. They are, in many ways, a normal, even archetypal family. This representation speaks to another key theme: The Strength of the Black Family. In a cultural landscape littered with stereotypically negative representations of the Black nuclear family, Whitehead provides an alternative: The Carney household is loving, supportive, and whole. During the chaos and cacophony of Part 1, the music of the Jackson 5 emerges as a motif representing familial love and stability. Ray repeatedly hears Jackson 5 songs on the radio, recalls their lyrics, and helps his children to collect their themed merchandise. The frequency with which Whitehead inserts mentions of the Jackson 5 into Ray’s portion of the narrative gestures toward the importance of family as a motivator for Ray: Even in his darkest hours, he is guided by his desire to provide for his family.
Part 1 also establishes representations of arson, urban decay, and the decline of Harlem as important symbols. Whitehead uses these symbols in each section, and their meaning is not truly revealed until Part 3, but they are still key elements of the narrative in Part 1. For example, Ray observes Harlem as a neighborhood in flux. The area’s demographic transition is noticeable: The Italian and Jewish populations are declining, replaced with Black and Hispanic residents. Former renters like Ray become owners, and there is turnover in local stores and businesses. Not all the change is positive, though. Ray observes: “These are not the old days. The city has changed. It’s crumbling around us and we have to outrun all of the shit raining down” (46). Many buildings have fallen into states of disrepair. It seems that fires break out daily. Crime is on the rise. Although the third section of the text will connect urban decay to city leadership, Part 1 is more interested in the impact that “crooked” policing has on neighborhood decline. Here, Whitehead uses arson and urban decay as symbols for the relationship between Corruption, Power, and Institutional Racism, but the power structures on display are those found within the police department rather than city hall. Munson and his partner, Buck Webb, embody the corruption endemic to the police department—a state of affairs that has given rise to the Knapp Commission, the external investigative body tasked with exposing rings of extortion, bribery, and embezzlement among New York City cops. Because the police officers, Munson and Buck included, work in tandem with organized criminals, the neighborhoods most in need of policing (like Harlem) are also the most overrun with violence. As in so many other cities, these neighborhoods are predominantly African American. Thus, the police are part of systemic inequality: They are a system put in place to protect citizens that, in this case, does the opposite.
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