The Tendrils of Racism in David F. Walker’s “Nighthawk”

A couple of years ago, I read David F. Walker’s Nighthawk series “Hate Makes Hate.” This was the first time I had heard of Nighthawk (Raymond Kane), so I didn’t know much about his backstory except what I looked up online. Even without that knowledge, Walker’s series can stand on its own because it focuses on current issues that plague our nation today: police brutality, the rise of white nationalism, class divisions, gentrification, and countless other issues. I do not want to delve into each of these topics today; instead, I want to look at a couple of aspects from the first few issues of the six-issue series that really stuck out to me. Ultimately, I do not want to give away the ending of the series because the ending, and the lead up to it, presents readers with very important questions about morality in the face of social injustice. The series never really answers these questions, and for me, that is a strength because it causes readers to decide what kind of superhero Nighthawk really is, which, in turn, makes readers question what kind of people they really are.

Nighthawk takes place in Chicago in the aftermath of a trial where a jury failed to convict a police officer who murdered an unarmed Black teen. Amidst this moment, a white nationalist group is bringing in illegal weapons and distributing meth, a wealthy, white businessman is working…