When Ma, Sylvester, and Dussie Mae get into a car accident on their way to the studio, the police officer racially profiles them by assuming they’re driving a stolen car. He also blames the accident on them and claims that Ma pushed over a nearby cabdriver, even though Ma herself insists the driver fell down on his own. Because Ma tells him she’s famous, though, the officer agrees to bring her to the studio on the way to the police station, clearly thinking somebody might bribe him to look the other way. Lo and behold, Irvin offers him money to forget about the incident, so he leaves without giving Ma any more trouble.
Get the entire Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom LitChart as a printable PDF.
Police Officer Character Timeline in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
The timeline below shows where the character Police Officer appears in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
...sandwiches, Irvin asks about Ma. But then a buzzer rings and Ma enters with a policeman, a young woman named Dussie Mae, and Ma’s nephew Sylvester. Ma is infuriated, shouting at...
(full context)
...commotion, it emerges that Sylvester was driving Ma’s car and got into an accident. The policeman claims Sylvester hit the other vehicle, but Sylvester insists that he, Ma, and Dussie Mae...
(full context)
Irvin takes the policeman aside. The officer was just bringing Ma to the station but decided to stop here...
(full context)
After the policeman leaves, Irvin greets Ma and tells her to take a seat while the band finishes...
(full context)
