Summary
In Chapter 1, Justyce (Jus) arrives to help out his ex-girlfriend, Melo Taylor, who is drunk and incapacitated in a supermarket parking lot. The parking lot is in Oak Ridge, a wealthy neighborhood in Atlanta. She is annoyed at Jus's arrival, but as she tries to stand to greet him, she falls over and hits her face against the car door. Jus tries to help Melo, but she fights back against him and insists that she can drive home herself. Jus is worried for her safety as she is very intoxicated, and decides to physically lift the struggling Melo into the backseat of her car so that he can drive her home himself. A series of rapid events impedes Jus from being able to help Melo: first, she throws up all over him; second, she slaps him in the face and then spits on him after he continues to try to help her; and third, a cop car pulls up behind them as Jus is strapping Melo into the back seat. The police officer does not say anything to Jus and instead yanks Jus's body and shoves him onto the trunk of the car. He then puts Jus in handcuffs. Jus tries to explain himself, but the officer hits him in the face before he can continue. The officer, who is named Castillo, tells Jus that he has been following him and that he knew Jus "was up to no good" as soon as he saw Jus's hood on (8). He accuses Jus of trying to hurt Melo, thinking that she is a "pretty white girl" who had simply "locked her keys in her car" (8). Officer Castillo tells Jus to keep his mouth shut or else he will be in even more trouble. Jus complies with the officer and tries to remain as respectful as possible.
After Chapter 1, we see Jus's first letter addressed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jus explains to Dr. King that he is an exemplary student at his selective preparatory school, which he attends on a full scholarship: "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). Despite this, as Jus tells Dr. King, "during the wee hours of this morning, literally none of that mattered" (10). Jus goes on to reflect on his encounter with Officer Castillo, which reveals what happened after Chapter 1 ended. Officer Castillo called for backup and Melo's parents made it to the scene, but they were unable to successfully advocate for Jus's release. Eventually, Melo's dad, Mr. Taylor, called Mrs. Friedman, who is an attorney, and she was able to demand that they release Jus from the handcuffs after several hours. By this time, the sun was already coming up. Mrs. Friedman drove Jus back to his dorm at Braselton Preparatory Academy. This encounter with the police causes Jus to reflect on the story of a Black teenager, Shemar Carson, who was shot by a white police officer in Nevada earlier that year. Jus reveals that he thought he would never have to deal with these kinds of threatening encounters with the police because he is a "good dude" and makes sure to present himself as respectable in the eyes of the public (12). Jus feels as if this unjust encounter with the police has changed him and resolves to pay more attention to his surroundings. In the meantime, he also wants to try to live according to Dr. King's message: "I want to try to live like you. Do what you would do. See where it gets me" (13).
In Chapter 2, Justice and Manny are hanging out in Manny's basement, playing video games. The violent nature of the game they are playing puts Jus on edge, reminding him of the violent encounter between himself and Officer Castillo. He asks Manny if they can switch to a less violent game. Manny asks Jus if he wants to talk about his feelings, but Jus avoids the conversation. Manny inquires about Jus's wrists, which are still hurting him. Jus tells Manny that he and Melo got back together the previous night. Manny pushes back against Jus's decision to get back together with Melo, reminding Jus that she had cheated on him previously and was the reason that he sat in handcuffs for three hours. Manny is upset that Melo sat in her car and watched Officer Castillo harm Jus instead of intervening. Jus brushes off Manny's concerns and tells him that Melo was scared. Plus, she is the hottest girl in school, which is important to Jus. Many tells Jus that his relationship with Melo is toxic. Before their conversation can continue, Manny's mom, Dr. Rivers, comes downstairs into Manny's room. While she is down there talking to the boys, she gets a phone call from her sister who tells Dr. Rivers that her son, Manny's cousin, has been arrested for the murder of a police officer.
In Chapter 3, Jus is on his way to Societal Evolution class. He is thinking about Shemar Carson; a grand jury chose not to indict the police officer who shot him. His mind also turns to Manny's cousin, and he reveals that the police officer that Manny's cousin confessed to shooting was Officer Castillo. Jus knows Manny's cousin—his name is Quan Banks and they grew up in the same neighborhood. As he walks into class, his professor Dr. Dray, known as "Doc," warns Jus that class might be upsetting for him. Manny, Jared Christensen, and SJ are also in this class. Jared Christensen is Manny's friend; he is white and upper class. SJ is Jay's friend and lab partner since sophomore year. She is also white. Her mom, Mrs. Friedman, is the one who drove Jus home in Chapter 1. Doc pulls up two statements for the class to discuss: "All men are created equal" and "What does the obvious change in the application of this phrase from 1776 to now tell us about how our society has evolved?" (21-2). The class quickly goes off-topic, however, when there is a disagreement over whether everyone is equal in the US today. Things get a bit heated when SJ pushes back against Jared's assertion that everyone is treated the same. They bring up Shemar Carson and disagree over whether or not the officer's lack of indictment meant that he was in the right. Justyce grows increasingly uncomfortable over the course of the conversation and excuses himself to the bathroom before class has finished.
In Chapter 4, Jus is sitting in the senior lounge when Manny and Jared walk in accompanied by a group of their friends, Kyle Berkley, Tyler Clepp, and Blake Benson. They do not see Jus. Jared is talking loudly about their class discussion and is upset at Doc's suggestion that there is racial inequality in the US today: "What kind of teacher has the nerve to suggest there's racial inequality to a classroom full of millennials?" (30). Kyle, Tyler, and Clepp agree with Justin that Doc's suggestion is preposterous. They shift their conversation over to SJ, and conjecture that she has a crush on Justyce. Jared then questions what Melo sees in Justyce: "What the hell does a hottie like Melo Taylor see in a guy who can't afford a Happy Meal?" (31). Manny weakly stands up for his friend, but the rest of the boys barrel forward in their conversation. They ultimately declare that equality prevails in the United States and Manny goes along with them, though Jus can tell that his heart isn't in it.
Following the conversation that Jus overhears between Manny and his "crew," Jus writes his second letter to Martin. He reveals that he has just gotten back to his dorm after an impromptu trip back home. He had first headed back home with the intention of staying there forever, but his mom quickly persuaded him to go back to school. He tells her that he is feeling discouraged by the events of the past few weeks and that everything he is doing feels like a losing battle. As he talks to his mom, Jus reflects on the events of the previous chapters, but she does not give him much sympathy. Instead, she asks him, "so whatchu gon' do? Run away?" (36). She encourages him to keep going and tells him not to worry about the fact that he feels like he doesn't fit, reminding him "people who make history rarely do" (36). By the end of his letter, Jus realizes that "there is nowhere to run"—the problems that he is dealing with will follow him wherever he goes (37). He also reflects on Manny and his friends and reveals that he is annoyed at Manny for letting his "crew" slide with so many offensive comments.
Analysis
Dear Martin opens with a scene of police brutality, which is defined by a member of law enforcement using undue or excessive force against a subject. Jus goes to help Melo, even though they are not dating anymore, because he wants her to be safe. However, Jus's own safety is put at risk when Officer Castillo racially profiles him, assumes that he is guilty, physically harms him, and places him in handcuffs. Officer Castillo throws police protocol out of the window and instead apprehends Justyce without even asking details about what is going on: "Before he can get his head out of the car, he feels a tug on his shirt and is yanked backward. His head smacks the doorframe just before a hand clamps down on the back of his neck. His upper body slams onto the trunk with so much force, he bites the inside of his cheek, and his mouth fills with blood" (7). Here, Officer Castillo uses excessive force as soon as he arrives on the scene. The very first thing that Jus experiences from this character is his violence—Jus is accosted before Castillo even says a word or Jus gets a chance to see his face. In fact, Jus is accosted when his back is turned, which places him in a position of vulnerability in relation to the police officer. As we know, Castillo's use of force in this scene is completely unwarranted. Justyce is innocent. However, Castillo racially profiles Jus and believes him to be "up to no good." Throughout the scene, Castillo insults Jus, referring to him as "punk ass" "punk" and "boy," which separates Castillo from Jus's "kind" and furthers the imbalance of power between them. As literary critic Laura Elizabeth Oldham argues, Officer Castillo's insults in this scene are "infantilizing and dehumanizing," meant to push Jus down and take power away from him.
Part of what distinguishes Jus as a suspect in Castillo's eyes is the fact that Jus has a hood on. Castillo insults Jus, "'Don't you say shit to me, you son of a bitch. I knew your punk ass was up to no good when I saw you walking down the road with that goddamn hood on" (8). Jus's choice of attire paired with his race identifies him in Castillo's eyes as a person of interest. Castillo perpetuates the racist stereotype that hoodies are markers of illegal activity when they are worn by Black men. As Laura Elizabeth Oldham points out, Justyce becomes invisible in this scene—Castillo renders Jus's personhood irrelevant by the assumptions that he makes based on how Jus looks. Castillo sees Jus as simply part of a larger group of Black men who commit crimes without stopping to consider the particulars of Jus's experience. Jus learns from his encounter with Castillo that racism is still a pressing issue in the United States. At the same time, however, Jus is hyper-visible in the eyes of the police—his hoodie marks him as someone that will eventually commit a crime. Justyce is caught off guard when Castillo erases his identity in this way and sees him as merely a stereotype. After he survives the encounter, he sets forth on his "Be Like Martin" project, in which he tries to understand the modern-day manifestations of racism in the United States.
We know that Jus was not committing a crime that night. And, as we soon discover, he is actually an extremely accomplished and successful teen. In his first letter to Dr. Martin Luther King, he describes his various accomplishments: "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. . . 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). This passage reveals to us that Jus is an extremely hard worker with ambitious goals. He has kept his life on the straight and narrow, despite the fact that he grew up "in a 'bad' area," because he wants to achieve his goals. Further, Jus is attending a prestigious preparatory academy that is generally reserved for Atlanta's wealthiest residents. Jus is able to attend on a full-ride scholarship, which suggests that he has had to work even harder than his peers to be able to attain the same level of success. In this passage, Justyce is both valuing his achievements and distancing himself from the neighborhood where he grew up. His neighborhood is described as "bad" in quotation marks, suggesting that someone else has said these words, but that Jus does not necessarily disagree. In Jus's mind, education is a social good—it is an instrument of power or a way for him to change his own circumstances. Jus believes that his success in life will keep him safe; as he tells Martin, he "never thought [he'd] be in this kind of situation" (12).
Jus's encounter with Officer Castillo teaches him about respectability politics (see the Themes section of this guide for a fuller discussion of this theme). Respectability politics involves the idea that a person who makes an effort to be seen as "respectable" will be able to avoid harmful situations. When it comes to respectability politics, Justyce seems to have all the boxes checked. Nevertheless, Castillo still arrests him violently without cause. During that scene in Chapter 1, Jus tries to maintain a level of respectability in the face of Castillo's utter lack of respect towards him: "Mama told [Jus] how to handle this type of situation, though he must admit he never actually expected to need the advice: Be respectful; keep the anger in check; make sure the police can see your hands (though that's impossible right now)" (8). As Laura Elizabeth Oldham points out, in this scene, Justyce attempts to uphold the place of the "respectable young Black man." Justyce never expects to have to deal with this kind of situation because he believed that dressing and expressing himself respectably would keep him from being stopped by the police. Thus, following his encounter with Officer Castillo, Justyce must reevaluate his world-view. As he tells Martin in his first letter, "Last night changed me. I don't wanna walk around all pissed off and looking for problems, but I know I can't continue to pretend nothing's wrong. Yeah, there are no more 'colored' water fountains, and it's supposed to be illegal to discriminate, but if I can be forced to sit on the concrete in too-tight cuffs when I've done nothing wrong, it's clear there's an issue. That things aren't as equal as folks say they are" (13).
Jus's encounter with police brutality leads him to think about other instances of police brutality that have made national headlines. In this section of Dear Martin, we are introduced to Shemar Carson, who Jus spends a significant time thinking about. Shemar Carson was a Black seventeen-year-old who was shot and killed in Nevada by a police officer. The details surrounding Shemar's death suggest that he was unfairly killed. Jus describes what he heard on the news: "The details are hazy since there weren't any witnesses, but what's clear is this cop shot an unarmed kid. Four times. Even fishier, according to the medical examiners, there was a two-hour gap between the time of death and when the cop called it in." Jus relays that he was not sure where he stood on the issue before his encounter with Officer Castillo. He believed that the problem of police brutality was not something that he had to worry about: "I've seen some pictures of Shemar Carson, and he did have kind of a thuggish appearance. In a way, I guess I thought I didn't really need to concern myself with this type of thing because compared to him, I don't come across as 'threatening,' you know? I don't sag my pants or wear my clothes super big. I go to a good school, and have goals and vision and 'a great head on my shoulders,' as Mama likes to say" (12). Here, Jus reveals that his previous understanding of respectability politics led him to believe that he was safe from police violence. However, Castillo's behavior in Chapter 1 turns everything Jus knows on his head. He is suddenly worried that he will be killed like Shemar was; when he is playing video games with Manny in Chapter 3, he is put on edge: "So many guns. Just like the one Castillo kept his hand on while treating Jus like a criminal. One wrong move, and Jus might've been the next Shemar Carson" (15).
While Jus's eyes have been opened to the reality of police brutality in America, his peers at Bras Prep remain unconvinced. In particular, Manny's friends—Jared, Tyler, Kyle, and Blake—are under the impression that racism no longer exists in the United States. During Jus's Societal Evolution class in Chapter 3, Jared and SJ argue about these realities, using Manny and Jus's lives as evidence to back up their claims. Their discussion topic—the phrase "all men are created equal" from the Declaration of Independence—leads Jared to argue that race-based inequality no longer exists in the United States. SJ brings up Shemar Carson's death to counter Jared's points. It soon becomes clear Jared and SJ have widely disparate perceptions of the Shemar Carson case. In response, Jared argues, "'Not every white person who kills a black person is guilty of a crime. Pretty sure the courts proved that yesterday.'" SJ responds, "'All the courts 'proved' yesterday was that a white guy can kill an unarmed teenager and get away with it if the kid is black'" (27). After class, Jared continues his argument that racism no longer exists while he is alone with his friends, including Manny, who is Black. As a result, Jus begins to feel like he doesn't fit in at Bras Prep. He tells his mom, "'All I know is I can't seem to find where I fit. Especially at that school" (35). As the novel progresses, Jus's tensions with Manny's "crew" (Jared, Tyler, Kyle, and Blake) will continue to escalate as his experiences come into conflict with their privileged worldview.
