what are places the characters visit

Jerry's Store

Jerry's corner store is where Rashad Butler is wrongfully accused of stealing, and brutally beaten by Paul Galluzzo. The store had frequent robberies, and the owner hired an officer to stand watch and protect the store. However, this information combined with a racially biased police officer in a pressure situation leads to an incident that brings to light a few different problems in the system. Jerry's is also the starting location for the protest at the end of the novel.

Hospital Room

Unfortunately, the hospital room is where Rashad spends most of the novel. After the arrest, he is kept by the doctors for concern of internal bleeding. However, despite being in one room for the most of the time, Rashad learns a lot about the issues that surround him though his art, his family and the news. The hospital room is where his Rashad's father tells him that he shot someone in a similar incident to his and it is also where Spoony and Berry tell him that this incident is sparking outrage in the community and online. Rashad was able to inspire a lot of people while sitting in his bed at the hospital.

Springfield Central High School

Springfield Central is where a lot of social growth occurs throughout the novel. On the sidewalk out in-front of the school is where Carlos, Rashad's good friend, spray paints 'RASHAD IS ABSENT AGAIN TODAY' in an effort to spark conversation and change. Springfield Central is also where Quinn, English, Guzzo and many of the others play basketball. The coach of the team constantly tells the players to leave their issues at the door, and to forget about it since the issues would not be solved on the court. However despite his best efforts, the issues surrounding Rashad and the different viewpoints spilled into practice and many times got physical.

Mother's Pizza

Mother's Pizza is a popular place in Springfield, and it is also located right on the line between that divides the two sides of the city. When Quinn, Willy and Jill visit Mother's after Willy's soccer game, they witness a fight breakout. The cops rush to the scene, and fortunately nothing gruesome happens. The authors use this situation to illustrate that not all cops abuse their power, and moreover, that they do not all have a racial bias, seeing as though there were a variety of races involved in the incident.

Cafeteria

The cafeteria is commonly a place for cliques within a school to exist, however the authors continued to take that one step further and used it as a location to segregate the white students from the black students. When RASHAD IS ABSENT AGAIN TODAY was painted on the sidewalk, there was a clear divide of students: the white kids were in the cafeteria, and the black kids were outside. Quinn found himself trying to decide where to sit, and while doing so Guzzo beckons him to come in. But Quinn, standing true in his beliefs, does not feel comfortable sitting with them in an all-white cafeteria.