Justyce McAllister
Justyce McAllister is a seventeen-year-old African American boy from a “bad area” in Atlanta, Georgia. A hardworking and intelligent young man, Justyce is a scholarship student at a prestigious boarding school called Braselton Preparatory Academy…
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Emmanuel (Manny) Rivers
Manny is Justyce’s best friend, and one of the only black students at Braselton Preparatory Academy. Manny comes from a very wealthy and successful family and, unlike Justyce, has grown up around privileged white…
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Jared Christensen
Jared is a conceited white boy who attends Braselton Preparatory Academy with Justyce. Jared is one of Manny’s closest friends, despite the fact that he often expresses racially-charged ideas and casually cracks bigoted…
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Sarah-Jane (SJ) Friedman
SJ is a Jewish girl at Braselton Preparatory Academy and is Justyce’s partner on the debate team. SJ and Justyce have always gotten along, and SJ is quick to speak up as an ally…
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Blake Benson
Blake is a white student at Braselton Preparatory Academy, and one of Jared and Manny’s good friends. Unlike Jared, whose racism is often subtle (even if still hurtful), Blake takes things extremely far, as…
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Mrs. McCallister / Justyce’s Mother
Mrs. McCallister is Justyce’s mother. A loving parent, she focuses on motivating Justyce to attain upward mobility and works hard throughout her life to make sure he has continued access to a good education…
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Officer Tommy Castillo
Officer Tommy Castillo is a white police officer who brutally assaults and arrests Justyce without reasonable cause. After seeing Justyce walking on the street at night with a hood on, Castillo follows him, assuming he’s…
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Officer Garrett Tison
Officer Garrett Tison is a white police officer who shoots and kills Manny. Tison is off-duty when he drives up next to Manny and Justyce at a stoplight. Manny is driving his Range Rover…
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Dr. Jarius Dray (“Doc”)
Doc teaches Societal Evolution at Braselton Preparatory Academy and is the leader of the school’s debate team. As an educated black man, Doc is one of Justyce’s only positive male role models. However, he…
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Melo Taylor
Melo is Justyce’s ex-girlfriend and also attends Braselton Preparatory Academy. Melo is widely considered the most attractive girl in Justyce’s class, which is partially why he finds it so difficult to break up with…
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Shemar Carson
Shemar Carson is a seventeen-year-old black boy from Nevada who is shot and killed by a white police officer. This takes place shortly before the beginning of the novel, but the story of Shemar’s death…
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Quan Banks
Quan Banks is Manny’s cousin, and a member of the local Black Jihad gang. From the same neighborhood as Justyce, Quan follows orders when the Black Jihad instructs him to murder Officer Castillo…
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Julian Rivers
Julian Rivers is Manny’s father. A successful man who has worked his way to the top of a well-respected company, Julian Rivers wants his son to understand that adversity doesn’t simply go away for…
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Dr. Rivers
Dr. Rivers is Manny’s mother, and a psychologist. When Manny dies, she and her husband Julian invite Justyce to dinner and give him a wristwatch they planned to give Manny on his eighteenth birthday…
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Mr. Taylor
Mr. Taylor is a former professional football player, and Melo’s father. When Justyce gets arrested while trying to stop Melo from driving drunk, Mr. Taylor comes to the scene and tries to convince Officer…
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Martel Montgomery
Martel Montgomery is the leader of the Black Jihad, a gang from Justyce’s mother’s neighborhood. Justyce has heard about Martel for years but has always made sure to avoid him, knowing that he…
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Trey
Trey is a member of the Black Jihad, a gang from Justyce’s mother’s neighborhood. When Justyce and Manny go to a Halloween party dressed as stereotypes with Jared, Blake, Tyler…
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Minor Characters
Mrs. Friedman
Mrs. Friedman is SJ’s mother. A skilled lawyer, she’s the one who finally manages to convince Officer Castillo to release Justyce after he’s wrongfully arrested for trying to help Melo.
Kyle Berkeley
Kyle is one of Jared and Manny’s white friends at Braselton Preparatory Academy. Like Blake and Jared, Kyle frequently goes along with racist jokes and ideas, agreeing with Jared that inequality no longer exists in the United States.
Tyler Clepp
Tyler is one of Jared and Manny’s white friends at Braselton Preparatory Academy. Like Blake and Jared, Tyler frequently goes along with racist jokes and ideas, agreeing with Jared that inequality no longer exists in the United States.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a prominent activist and preacher during the Civil Rights Movement. In the aftermath of his violent encounter with Officer Castillo, Justyce decides to write epistolary diary entries to Dr. King, constantly asking himself what the reverend would do in his position.
Tavarrius Jenkins
Tavarrius Jenkins is a sixteen-year-old black boy who is shot and killed by a police officer after trying to help an elderly white woman. The news of this incident reaches Justyce and causes him to reflect upon how badly his interaction with Officer Castillo could have gone.
Tison’s Attorney
Garrett Tison’s attorney is the woman who represents him in court. She cross-examines Justyce, asking him quick questions and purposefully disorienting him to craft the narrative that he is a person who makes rash, violent decisions.
