Justyce McAllister
Justyce is the protagonist of Dear Martin. He is a Black teenager from Atlanta who goes to a prestigious prep school on a full scholarship. In a letter he writes to the dead civil-rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he explains his background academic achievements, and hopes for the future: "My name is Justyce McAllister. I'm a 17-year-old high school senior and full-scholarship student at Braselton Preparatory Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm ranked fourth in my graduating class of 83, I'm the captain of the debate team, I scored a 1560 and a 34 on my SATs and ACTs respectively, and despite growing up in a 'bad' area (not too far from your old stomping grounds), I have a future ahead of me that will likely include an Ivy League education, an eventual law degree, and a career in public policy" (10).
Justyce is an observant and empathetic person who is trying to find the best path for himself. He struggles with the realities of racism in the United States as well as among his own community at Bras Prep. He butts heads with his friend Manny's friends, the "crew"—four white teenagers named Jared, Blake, Kyle, and Tyler, who are covertly, and sometimes overtly, racist. He writes about the systemic racism that he faces on a daily basis in letters to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and tries to apply Dr. King's teachings to his life.
In Chapter 6, Jus learns that he has been accepted to Yale. In Chapter 9, Jus wins the state debate tournament with his debate partner, SJ. In Chapter 14, at the end of Part 1, Jus's best friend, Manny, is shot and killed by an off-duty police officer. Jus, who was sitting in the car with Manny, gets shot in the shoulder but survives. He spends the rest of the novel dealing with the grief of losing his best friend and the anger at this senseless act of violence. He is attending Yale by the end of the novel.
Manny
Manny is Justyce's best friend. Like Jus, Manny is Black, but he comes from a very wealthy background. Manny often has the newest games and most expensive toys: in Chapter 2, he and Jus play the new Madden game, which "doesn't even hit the shelves for another week" (15). Manny's father is the VP of a major financial corporation. His mom is a psychologist. In Jus's eyes, Manny lives a happy, privileged life: "There's a lot of stuff Many has that Justyce doesn't—two parents with six-figure salaries, a basement apartment, a badass car, crazy confidence" (17). He is a loyal and supportive friend to Jus. He is the captain of the basketball team at their high school and "one of the best-looking guys Jus knows" (17). He has been accepted to Morehouse College and plans to attend following the completion of his senior year of high school.
As Part 1 progresses, Manny has a political awakening and becomes more aware of the systemic racism that surrounds him. At the end of Part 1, Manny is shot and killed by an off-duty police officer, Garret Tison, following an argument about the volume of Manny's music.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Throughout Dear Martin, Justyce writes letters to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Justyce feels close to this historical figure and earnestly tries to find guidance by writing him letters and, through that, imagining his response. In the first letter to Martin, Jus wonders if he would mind that they are addressed to "Martin" rather than "Dr. King": "First and foremost, please know I mean you no disrespect with the whole 'Martin' thing. I studied you and your teachings for a project in the tenth grade, so it feels most natural to interact with you as a homie. Hope you don't mind that" (10). The fact that Jus includes this prelude to the letter tells us that he knows a lot about Dr. King's teachings and feels close to him, as if he and Dr. King are "homie[s]." Throughout the novel, Dr. King (for obvious reasons) never responds to Jus, which means that as a character he mostly exists inside of Jus's head. Despite this, the Dr. King in Jus's head carries with him the messages and teachings from when he was alive. This means that Jus's letters are not completely one-sided. Through Dr. King's legacy, Jus and Dr. King have a conversation about the current events of Jus's life as Jus tries to process these events himself. Dr. King becomes Jus's confidant and role model. He tells Dr. King, "I wanna try to live like you. Do what you would do. See where it gets me" (13).
Sarah-Jane "SJ" Friedman
Sarah-Jane "SJ" Friedman is Jus's friend from school. Her mom, Mrs. Friedman, drove Jus back to his dorm after Officer Castillo stopped him in Chapter 1. She is the lacrosse team captain and future valedictorian. She has been Jus's debate partner since sophomore year. She has been accepted to Columbia University and plans to attend following the completion of her senior year of high school. She is outspoken against racism and supports Justyce through many difficult moments.
SJ is Jewish. She has had a crush on Jus since the 10th grade, though she does not reveal this fact until the end of the novel. Jus discovers that he has feelings for SJ in Chapter 5 and tries to kiss her after their debate tournament win in Chapter 9. However, SJ turns him down and ignores him until Chapter 15, when they talk during Manny's funeral service. Justyce and SJ start officially dating in Chapter 20 and are still together by the end of the novel.
Officer Castillo
Officer Castillo is the police officer who falsely accuses Jus of trying to hurt Melo in Chapter 1. Before asking any questions, he physically assaults Jus and puts him in handcuffs. He has racially profiled Jus and seems to hold on to racial bias against Black people in general. When arresting Jus, he tells him, "I know your kind: punks like you wander the streets of nice neighborhoods searching for prey. Just couldn't resist the pretty white girl who'd locked her keys in the car, could ya?" (8). While Officer Castillo harasses and injures Jus, he tells Jus to keep his mouth shut, which prevents Jus from explaining himself. He has "cold blue" eyes (9).
Officer Castillo is ultimately killed by Quan Banks, Manny's cousin. Officer Castillo's partner is Officer Garret Tison, the man who shoots Jus and Manny in Chapter 14.
Jared Christensen
Jared is Manny's friend at Bras Prep. Jus doesn't really like Jared but he and Manny have been friends for many years: "Justyce isn't real fond of Jared—or any of Manny's other friends for that matter—but he knows they've all been tight since kindergarten, so he tries to keep a lid on it" (20). Jared is wealthy and white, and his family goes to the same country club as Manny's family. On Halloween, Jared decides that their whole "crew" should dress as stereotypes for Halloween. He dresses up as a yuppie/politician.
Jared often make racist comments that Manny lets slide in order to uphold their friendship. However, during Blake's birthday party, Jus gets in a fight with Manny's friends, and Manny realizes that he does not want to put up with Jared's racism any longer. The next day, they go to a music festival, and Jared makes a comment that upsets Manny. Manny goes to school the following Monday to quit the basketball team and Jared makes an outlandishly racist comment. Manny lashes out and beats Jared up.
In Chapter 13, Manny reveals that Jared's father, Mr. Christensen, is pressing charges against Manny for assaulting his son. Manny is upset about this and decides to go on a drive with Jus to clear his head, which leads to him arguing with Officer Garret Tison about the volume of his music. During the dispute, Officer Tison shoots him and Jus. Jared feels extremely guilty about Manny's death and grieves for the loss of his friend. He ends up at Yale with Justyce. In the Epilogue, Jared and Justyce reconcile while they are visiting Manny's grave and make plans to hang out once they return to school.
Jus's Mom
Jus's mom lives in Atlanta. She has raised Jus by herself since Jus was 11 years old, when his father died in a drunk driving accident. She is a kind and supportive mother who wants what's best for her son. She comforts Jus when he feels discouraged about the racism he faces at Bras Prep. Later, when Jus is caught in a media maelstrom following Manny's death, she stands up for him against reporters and police officers. She stands next to Jus through every struggle he faces in life.
Jus's mom is not supportive of Jus dating a white girl, so she takes issue with his relationship with SJ in the final chapters of the novel.
Jarius "Doc" Dray
Dr. Jarius "Doc" Dray is Justyce's Societal Evolution teacher. He is Jus's favorite teacher and the debate team advisor. Jus introduces him in Chapter 3: "He's the only (half) black guy Jus knows with a PhD, and Jus really looks up to him" (20). Doc helps Jus through many difficult moments and watches out for him. Jus spends a lot of time with Doc, even when class is not in session.
In Chapter 11, Doc reveals to Jus that he, like Manny, grew up attending a predominantly white school. When he transferred to a more integrated high school, he felt out of place and unable to stand up to expectations from both white and Black students. Later, when working for his PhD, Doc had to deal with a racist advisor who told him that he would never succeed. Nevertheless, Doc got his PhD thanks to his own confidence in himself and determination of will.
Quan Banks
Quan Banks is Manny's cousin. He grew up in Jus's neighborhood and was Jus's childhood friend. He is part of a gang called the Black Jihad. Quan has been accused of shooting and killing Officer Castillo. He is currently in juvenile detention awaiting charges. In Chapter 17, Jus visits Quan at juvie, and Quan explains his motivation for killing Officer Castillo—namely, because one of his gang-mates told him to. As he explains to Jus, Quan joined a gang because he felt like it was his only path for survival: "where I come from, resistance is existence, homie. Every day I woke up in my hood coulda been my last. . . My dudes. . . they're like family to me. They've got my back as long as I have theirs. Somebody tells you to make a move, you make a move. No questions asked" (143).
Quan is kind to Jus and understanding of the emotional turmoil that Jus feels. He convinces Jus to meet with Martel, the leader of the Black Jihad.
Kyle Berkley
Kyle is part of Jared and Manny's "crew" of friends. He is a wealthy white kid from Atlanta. Kyle dresses up as a redneck for Halloween as part of Jared's idea to dress up as stereotypes.
Tyler Clepp
Tyler is part of Jared and Manny's "crew" of friends. He is a wealthy white kid from Atlanta. He dresses up as a surfer dude for Halloween.
Blake Benson
Blake is part of Jared and Manny's "crew" of friends. He is a wealthy white kid from Atlanta. He dresses up as a Klansman for Halloween, which earns him a punch in the face. During his birthday party in Chapter 10, Jus is outraged to find that Blake's family uses racist household decorations. He and Jus end up getting in a fight, where Justyce punches both him and Jared in the face.
Martel
Martel is the leader of the gang called Black Jihad. He is older than Jus and is currently under house arrest. Jus goes to speak to Martel in Chapter 19. Jus describes Martel's appearance when he first enters Martel's home: "His gaze roams the space until it lands on a youngish, bearded black man in a dashiki shirt and kufi hat. He's sitting cross-legged in a papasan chair with kente-cloth cushion. Most notable is the black tracking device strapped to his ankle" (160). Martel dresses in and surrounds himself with African items to remind himself and the rest of the Black Jihad "of ancient Kemet" so that they don't forget "our imperial roots" (160). "Kemet" is one word that Ancient Egyptians used to refer to Africa before European colonizers arrived. Martel believes that all Black people have royal blood in their veins. He uses this ideology to combat "the lie of white superiority" that the United States was founded on (161).
Trey
Trey is another member of the Black Jihad. Because they grew up in the same neighborhood, Jus has known Trey since they were kids. Trey first appears in Chapter 5, during the Halloween Party. He and his friends punch Blake in the face because of his Klansman costume.
Jus later reveals in his fourth letter to Martin that he ran into Trey when he went back home to tell his mom about his acceptance to Yale. During their encounter, Jus tells Trey that he got into Yale, and Trey tells him that he will never be able to escape their neighborhood. He also tells Jus that white people don't want Black people at the top; they will push Justyce back down soon enough.
Later in the novel, Quan gives Justyce Trey's phone number so that Justyce can talk to Martel. When Justyce arrives at Martel's house, Trey is sitting outside on the porch with several other gang members.
Julian Rivers
Mr. Rivers is Manny's father. He is a powerful and successful businessman and a partner at an investment firm. Despite his power and influence, he still has to face racism from time to time at his work. After Manny is killed, Mr. Rivers heads the Justice for JAM movement in Atlanta ("JAM" stands for "Justyce And Manny"). Mr. Rivers is photographed leading a protest that shut down a highway in Atlanta, which leads to his firm losing several high-profile clients. His firm tells him to publicly denounce the Justice for JAM movement or he will be fired. Ultimately, Mr. Rivers chooses to walk away from his job, and he and Dr. Rivers, Manny's mom, are forced to move.
Melo Taylor
At the beginning of the book, Melo is Justyce's ex-girlfriend. He goes to help her at a FarmFresh parking lot when she is too drunk to drive. However, before he can safely drive her home, a police officer stops Jus and threatens to arrest him. Jus is attracted to Melo's appearance; he notes early on that she is "the finest girl he's ever laid eyes—not to mention hands—on," (5).
Like Jus, Melo grew up in Atlanta. Her father is a Hall of Fame NFL linebacker and her mom is Norwegian. Despite the fact that Melo is of mixed race, she inherited her mom's appearance: "She got Mrs. Taylor's milky Norwegian complexion, wavy hair the color of honey, and amazing green eyes that are kind of purple around the edge," (5). The fact that Melo's appearance is not easily coded as Black leads to Jus being harassed by Officer Castillo in Chapter 1.
Mrs. Friedman
Mrs. Friedman is SJ's mom. She is an attorney. She goes to the parking lot where Jus is arrested in Chapter 1 and demands that the officers release him and then drives Jus home.
Garrett Tison
Garret Tison is a white police officer with the Atlanta PD who has been in law enforcement for over 27 years.
In Chapter 13, he gets angry with Jus and Manny while he is off-duty because of the volume of their music. He shoots Jus and Manny in Chapter 14. Jus's shoulder is injured and Manny dies from his wounds. A grand jury decides to indict Tison on four counts—two misdemeanors and two felonies, aggravated assault and murder. While he waits for the trial, his house is burned down, leaving his wife with second-degree burns. During the trial, he testifies that he was afraid for his life during the argument with Manny and Jus. The jury finds him guilty on three of the charges—everything except for felony murder—and cannot come to a consensus on the murder charge. It is declared a mistrial. Before it can be retried, however, Tison is killed in his jail cell by three other inmates.
