Part 1
Dear Martin is about Justyce McAllister ("Jus"), a Black teenager from Atlanta. When the novel begins Jus is starting his senior year at the prestigious Braselton Preparatory Academy ("Bras Prep"). Jus comes from a lower-income neighborhood in Atlanta and attends Bras Prep on a full scholarship. In Chapter 1, Jus is racially profiled by a police officer named Officer Castillo and wrongfully arrested. He was trying to help his ex-girlfriend, Melo, who is very drunk. However, Officer Castillo assumes Jus is trying to hurt Mel and uses undue force to detain him without first pausing to ask questions. In response to this encounter, Jus writes a letter to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the letter, he tells Dr. King about the injustice he experienced. He wonders if he will have the same fate as Shemar Carson, a Black teenager who was shot and killed by a white police officer earlier that year in Nevada. He commits himself to paying more attention to his surroundings and recording what happens to him in letters to Dr. King (who Jus calls Martin). He resolves to live according to Martin's example going forward.
In Chapter 2, Jus is playing video games with his best friend, Manny. While he is at Manny's house, Manny's mom receives a call from her sister. She tells Manny and Jus that Manny's cousin, Quan Banks, has been arrested for the murder of a police officer. In Chapter 3, Jus attends his Societal Evolution class, taught by Dr. Jarius Dray ("Doc"). In class, they discuss the phrase "all men are created equal" from the Declaration of Independence. Jus's classmates disagree over whether or not everyone is treated equally in the United States today. The conversation makes Jus uncomfortable, particularly because his classmates use him as an example to back up their points. In Chapter 4, Jus is sitting alone in the senior lounge when Manny walks in with his "crew," Jared, Blake, Kyle, and Tyler. Jared expresses outrage about the fact that Doc suggested that racial inequality is still prevalent in the United States today. He reiterates that everyone is treated equally, regardless of race. They start talking about Jus and disparaging him for his lower socioeconomic status. Manny joins in with them, but Jus can tell that his heart isn't in it.
Following this experience, Jus writes his second letter to Martin. He tells Martin that he feels discouraged and out-of-place at Bras Prep. He goes back home to visit his mom, and she encourages him to keep going. Jus resolves to keep living like Dr. King, though the path forward isn't so clear to him anymore. He wants to maintain a dignified attitude, like Dr. King, but he's not sure how he is supposed to respond to the fact that some people look down on him because of his race. In Chapter 5, Jus attends a Halloween party with Manny and the "crew." Jared has come up with the idea for them all to go dressed as "stereotypes" to prove that inequality no longer exists. Among the costumes, Jus is dressed as a Thug and Blake is dressed as a Klansman. When they arrive at the party, Blake is punched in the face by a group of guys from Jus's neighborhood. They recognize Jus and call him out for spending time with the "crew." Jus tries to diffuse the situation, and Trey (one of the boys from Jus's neighborhood) tells Jus and Manny that white people will never see them as equals. Jus writes a third letter to Martin after this scene. In the letter, he recounts having a phone conversation with SJ—one of his classmates and his debate partner—in which he told her everything about the party. He reveals to Martin that he is developing a crush on her.
In Chapter 6, Jus discovers that he has been accepted for early admission to Yale University. He calls SJ to tell her the news. The next day at school, SJ hugs Jus in the cafeteria. Melo watches their exchange and afterward asks Jus if he wants to hang out soon. In Chapter 7, Jus attends his Societal Evolution class where Jared is extremely upset that he did not get into Yale but Jus did. He argues that the only reason Jus got in is because of affirmative action, and that minority students are taking the spots of white students. SJ argues against Jared's assertions and makes the case for affirmative action. Following Chapter 7, Jus writes his fourth letter to Martin. In the letter, he tells Martin that he went home to tell his mom about his Yale acceptance in person. While he was in his old neighborhood, he ran into Trey, who told him that the white people at Yale will never truly accept him. Jus ends up feeling defeated.
In Chapter 8, Jus and Manny are hanging out. Manny starts quizzing Jus on his relationship with SJ. Jus tells Manny that his mom would never approve of a relationship with SJ because she is white. Manny tells Jus that he is scared of Black girls because he has never met a Black girl outside of his family before. He tells Jus that he is scared about attending Morehouse College next year. He's afraid of not fitting in after attending mostly-white institutions for most of his life. Jus calms Manny's concerns and tells him he's sure to find a community there.
In Chapter 9, SJ and Jus go to the state debate finals. Their only category is advanced pairs argumentation. Their argument—that "racial disparities in the US justice system are largely due to racial profiling"—is controversial, but they argue their case successfully. They win the tournament. Throughout the chapter, Jus grapples with his deepening feelings for SJ. In his letter to Martin following the chapter, Jus reveals that he tried to kiss SJ after they won the tournament, but she rejected his advances. In Chapter 10, Jus is upset about his rocky relationship with SJ and the fact that another unarmed Black teenager, Tavarrius Jenkins, has been shot and killed by the police in Florida. He tries to talk about his feelings with Doc, but SJ is in Doc's classroom, crying. He ends up going to his dorm room, where Manny finds him and convinces him to go to Blake's birthday party. At the party, Jus is upset that Blake's family has racist decorations in their house. On top of that, Blake approaches Jus and Manny, trying to get their help to get together with a Black girl and using the n-word. Jus explodes and a fight ensues. He leaves the party and Manny follows him, offering him a ride home. Jus refuses and walks home by himself.
Following this altercation, Jus writes to Martin. In the letter, he expresses frustration at Manny and his friends. He admits that he knows that beating up Jared and Blake was wrong, but he also can't bring himself to care about being "agreeable" since they don't care about being offensive. He is upset at the blatant racism that he sees around him as well as on the news every time a Black teenager is shot and killed by the police. In Chapter 11, Jus wakes up to Doc knocking at his door. Doc and Jus have a long conversation about Manny and the "crew." Doc listens to Jus and is compassionate and understanding. He also tries to give Jus a little bit of perspective on Manny's point of view: like Manny, he grew up in a mostly-white environment, and didn't really have to face issues of race until he moved to a magnet high school.
In Chapter 12, Jus realizes that neither Manny nor Jared are at school on Monday. He goes back to his dorm at the end of the day and Manny comes to see him. Manny tells Jus that he's realized that the "crew" were never really his friends. On Monday morning, Manny and Jus came to blows. Manny apologizes to Jus for what happened after Blake's party and thanks Jus for helping open his eyes. After this conversation, Jus writes his seventh letter to Martin. In the letter, he recounts that Mr. Julian, Manny's father, told Manny and Jus that one of his employees referred to him using a racist slur at work. Mr. Julian also expressed concerns about not having prepared Manny for the realities of racism in the United States. Jus wonders what the point is of is working so hard to get ahead in life, if someone with as much authority as Mr. Julian is still getting disrespected. At the end of the letter, he also reveals that SJ is still ignoring him.
In Chapter 13, Manny picks Jus up in his car. He is extremely upset because Jared's father is pressing charges against Manny for assault. Manny asks Jus if they can drive around so that he can clear his head. They play loud music, and a white man driving next to them gets angry about the music's volume. He follows Manny's car and yells racial slurs at them. Manny responds by turning the music up, and then he yells "OH SHIT" right before the chapter ends (119). Chapter 14 is just three words: "BANG. BANG. BANG" (120).
Part 2
At the opening of Part 2, a news transcript tells us that the white man from the previous chapter was an off-duty police officer named Garrett Tison. We also learn what happened after Manny's scream: Tison shot at Manny and Jus, and Manny was killed. In Chapter 15, Jus attends Manny's funeral. The entire community is grieving Manny's death. Jus's arm is in a sling because Tison shot Jus's shoulder, and Jus has just been released from the hospital. At the funeral, Jus has a conversation with SJ and he tells her that he misses her. Jus reveals that there is a swarm of reporters waiting to talk to him outside. A news article appears after Chapter 15 that tells us that a Georgia grand jury has decided to indict Garrett Tison. His community, as a result, is in an uproar.
In Chapter 16, Jus attends dinner at the Rivers household to commemorate the fact that Tison has been indicted. Jus and Manny's parents eat silently together. After dinner, Manny's parents tell Jus that Quan Banks wants to see him and they also give Jus a valuable watch. The watch is a family heirloom, and the Riverses meant to give it to Manny on his eighteenth birthday. In the next chapter, Jus goes to visit Quan in juvie. Quan tells Jus that Officer Castillo and Tison were partners, and Tison was there the night Quan killed Officer Castillo. Quan was with members of the Black Jihad (a gang from Jus's neighborhood) when he shot Officer Castillo. He tells Jus that being in a gang is about survival; in order to survive in this world, you need a group of people who will always have your back. He encourages Jus to reach out to Martel, the leader of the Black Jihad. Quan asks Jus, "What's the point of doing right when everyone expects you to do wrong?" Jus has been thinking the same thing.
In Chapter 18, Jus is hanging out in Doc's classroom after school when SJ bursts in and turns on the news. The newscasters are discussing a photo of Jus in his "Thug" costume from Halloween. The anchor suggests that Jus is involved with gang activity. Jus worries that this photo will turn public opinion in Tison's favor. He asks Doc why he should choose to do the right thing if it's always going to be assumed that he is doing wrong. Doc tells him that the only person he can control is himself; it is up to him to decide what kind of man he wants to be. Afterward, Jus and SJ reconcile. A news article tells us following Chapter 18 that Mr. Rivers has been fired from his job because he was participating in a protest in support of Justyce and Manny.
In Chapter 19, Jus goes to see Martel. Martel tells Jus that Black people have grown accustomed to the lie of white superiority, but in fact they have royal blood flowing through their veins. He also tells Jus that the struggle of their ancestors is their legacy. He understands his gang as a continued struggle against oppression. He asks Jus if he wants to join, but Jus eventually leaves before he can be brought into the gang. In Chapter 20, Jus shows up unannounced at SJ's house. He tells her about how he has been feeling and starts to cry. After he is done crying, they talk about their feelings for each other and decide to start dating. Following Chapter 20, we are given a transcript from the nightly news in which the news anchor announces that a fire was started at Tison's house, leaving his wife with multiple second-degree burns. The police have already apprehended three teenagers that were seen in the area the night of the fire.
In Chapter 21, Jus is attending the commencement ceremony for his high school graduation when he is approached by police officers who want to know if he had anything to do with the arson at Tison's home. Jus answers their questions and tells them where he was that night—with his girlfriend SJ and her family. Mama overhears that Jus is dating SJ and is very upset. She and Jus get into an argument on the way home, and she tells him that she will never support him being in a relationship with a white girl.
In the next chapter, Jus takes the witness stand during Tison's trial. He has just been questioned by the DA, and things went smoothly. Tison's defense attorney, however, is out for blood. She asks Jus about Manny's physical altercation with Jared. She also brings up Blake's birthday party, during which Jus beat up both Blake and Jared. She then has Jus read the Atlanta City Ordinances which contain an article against loud noises. Finally, she asks Jus whether he has had contact with Quan Banks in the past several months. The following news article informs us that the jury found Tison guilty of two misdemeanors and one felony, aggravated assault. The jury was undecided on the murder felony charge, and it was declared a mistrial, meaning it will be retried at a later date.
In Chapter 23, Jus and SJ are hanging out in SJ's basement, watching a documentary about butterflies. The district attorney calls to tell SJ's mom that Tison has been murdered in his jail cell. The following transcript from the morning news tells us that Tison was murdered by other inmates at the county jail. After this transcript, Jus writes his final letter to Martin. He tells Martin that he has finally arrived at Yale, where he feels out of place. He reflects on his "Be Like Martin" project and wonders what he was trying to get out of it. He commits himself to being like Martin rather than trying to do what Martin would do. In order to do that, he needs to decide who he is and what he believes in. He resolves to do that over the next few years.
In the epilogue, Jus goes to visit Manny's grave during his winter break. He sees Jared standing there. They talk for a few minutes about Yale (Jared is there, too). Jared tells Jus that he misses Manny so much, and Jus tells him he feels the same. They make plans to hang out when they are back at school and share a moment of peace.
