If Beale Street Could Talk is told from the point-of-view of Tish Rivers, a 19-year-old from Harlem. In the first scene of the novel, Tish speaks to her lover, Fonny Hunt, who is in jail, and tells him she is pregnant. Fonny is in jail because he was falsely accused by a Puerto Rican woman, Mrs. Rogers, of raping her. While the events of the novel unfold, Tish tells us of her history with Fonny, starting with how they met each other. They lived across the street from each other in Harlem growing up, and the first time they officially met was when they got into a fight with their friends Geneva and Daniel. Tish swung a board that had a rusty nail on it at Fonny, which caused him to bleed. After this, he ran after her, and once he caught up to her he spat in her mouth. A few days later, they met up again, and apologized to each other. From that moment on, they were in each others' lives.
After Tish tells Fonny she is pregnant, she goes home to tell her family, who are supportive and loving. Following this, Tish's father, Joseph, calls Fonny's family and tells them to come to the Rivers household for a "summit meeting." At the meeting, there is open hostility between Fonny's mother, Mrs. Hunt, and sisters, Sheila and Adrienne, who believe they are better than Fonny and the Rivers family because, among other reasons, they have lighter skin. When Tish tells the Hunt family she is pregnant, Frank, Fonny's father, is overjoyed while Mrs. Hunt and her daughters are upset and judgemental. Mrs. Hunt insults Tish and the baby, saying that the "Holy Ghost will cause that child to shrivel in [Tish's] womb" (68). In response, Frank backhands his wife and she falls on the floor, and then he and Joseph leave to go drinking and celebrate the coming baby. The women are left in the Rivers home, and Tish's sister, Ernestine, fights with Adrienne and Sheila until they all leave.
While all of these events are happening, Tish remembers the first time they had sex in Fonny's apartment in the Village. That evening, they went to a Spanish restaurant where Fonny was a regular, and was friends with the owners and wait staff. Tish was happy about the community that Fonny had found in the restaurant and notes that they have given her support many times over the years. Before Fonny and Tish had sex for the first time, Fonny proposed to her, saying that he wouldn't be able to give her a fancy life because he is an artist. The next morning, Tish and Fonny went uptown to the Rivers household in Harlem and told Tish's family that they want to get married, who gave the couple their consent.
After Tish tells the Hunt family that she is pregnant, she goes with her mother to meet with Fonny's lawyer, Mr. Hayward. Mr. Hayward reveals to Tish and Mrs. Rivers that Mrs. Rogers, the woman who accused Fonny of raping her, has left the United States and has returned to Puerto Rico, where she is from. This complicates Fonny's case, as the defense will be unable to receive Mrs. Roger's testimony in court and it will be likely assumed that she did not misidentify her rapist. Because Fonny has an alibi—he was with Tish and Daniel during the time of the assault—his release from jail is much more likely if Mrs. Rogers is in court. Additionally, Daniel, one of Fonny's key witnesses, has been arrested and is at the mercy of the District Attorney, who will try to convince him to change his testimony. After all of this bad news, Mr. Hayward asks the Rivers family for more money, saying that he will need to hire a private investigator to track Mrs. Rogers down.
Following the scene with the lawyer, Tish recounts that she recently cooked dinner for Daniel and Fonny, before Fonny went to jail. Daniel had just been released from a two-year jail sentence, in which he was convicted for carjacking even though he was innocent. As with Fonny (we will soon learn), he was picked out of a line-up by the victim of the carjacking. While Fonny and Daniel catch up, Tish cooks them dinner. At the table, Tish and Fonny have a conversation without having to say anything to each other: "We are together somewhere where no one can reach us, touch us, joined" (105). Daniel stays at Fonny's apartment until midnight and is afraid to walk into the streets alone. Fonny walks him to the subway while Tish directs her questions to God: "Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel? And why not every man?" (106). The next few times that Daniel sees Tish and Fonny, he tries to reveal to them what really happened to him when he went to jail. He tells them how harmful it was to his psyche for his power to be taken away so easily even though he did nothing wrong.
Tish tells Fonny that Mrs. Rogers has disappeared and Fonny almost loses hope. After Tish leaves, she has a terrible nightmare in which Fonny's life is in peril. When she wakes up, her mother Sharon calms her and wipes her forehead with a cool towel. Tish then goes to work and considers if she would be able to sell her body in order to help get Fonny out of jail.
Ernestine picks Tish up from work and tells her that Mrs. Rogers has been found in Puerto Rico. She tells her sister that their mother, Sharon, has to be the one to go to Puerto Rico and to try to convince Mrs. Rogers to change her testimony. Ernestine also says that they will attempt to shatter Officer Bell's validity in the eyes of the court by revealing to the jury that he had killed a young African American boy a few years ago. They hope that this will be evidence enough of Bell's racism and that they will have no other choice but to discount the case. Tish feels her baby move inside of her for the first time. At the same time, Frank and Joseph meet, and they resolve themselves to do everything they can to get Fonny out of jail. They begin stealing from their jobs and selling those stolen items in Harlem and Brooklyn.
Tish comes to the realization that Mr. Hayward truly does care about Fonny's case, even if it means coming into conflict with his colleagues. Hayward finds Daniel and jail and sees that the cops have beaten him in an attempt to get him to change his testimony. Mr. Hayward offers to represent him, but Daniel refuses. Sharon meets with Hayward to prepare for her trip to Puerto Rico. He tells her to be wary of the favelas and gives her the necessary information she needs to know in order to find Mrs. Rogers. Before Tish and her mother leave Hayward's office, Hayward informs them that the Hunt girls have testified against Fonny's character to the D.A.'s office.
Tish recounts the night in which she and Fonny conceived their baby. She and Fonny had just found an apartment in the Lower East Side and were taking a celebratory stroll to Fonny's old apartment on Bank Street. While Tish shipped for vegetables at a market, Fonny ran to a corner store to buy a pack of cigarettes. While Fonny is gone, a young white man put his hand on Tish's behind and began to harass her. Fonny arrived and beats up the kid, which caused a white policeman, Officer Bell, to run over and begin to question Fonny. Tish felt intense fear at this moment. She tried to protect Fonny by putting her body between him and the officer. The officer asked Fonny questions and told him that they were going to bring him in for assault and battery. Fonny was only able to walk free because the shop owner, a middle-aged Italian lady, vouched for Fonny's character and told the cop that Fonny was only defending Tish. Fonny and Tish went to the Spanish restaurant from their first date and had a lovely dinner together. Afterward, they went home and made love; this was the night when the baby was conceived. Tish realizes that it was also the night when Officer Bell decided he wanted to get Fonny in trouble.
Sharon arrives in Puerto Rico and goes to the nightclub that Pietro, Mrs. Rogers' lover, owns. She talks with Pietro, who listens to what she has to say but ultimately tells her that he cannot help her. Back in New York, Tish's pregnancy is coming along. Joseph tells her that she has to stop working and that her family will support her. He needs her to take care of her health and spend the time that she is usually working going to visit Fonny. He knows that this will give Fonny hope, and Tish realizes he is right as soon as she sees the light in Fonny's eyes. She feels that she and Fonny are not alone—they have a loving and supportive family by their side. Back in Puerto Rico, Sharon goes to the favela to visit Mrs. Rogers where she lives. When they first meet, Mrs. Rogers denies knowing what she is talking about. However, Sharon pushes Mrs. Rogers to such an extent that she begins to scream and cry. Eventually, she miscarries her baby and loses her mind. They take her to a rehabilitation center in the mountains and Jaime, Sharon's taxi driver, tells Sharon that they will never see her again.
Tish is wary of Officer Bell, who spends a lot of time walking around her neighborhood in order to intimidate Fonny and herself. He looks at Fonny and Tish with lusty and violent eyes which deeply concerns Tish. One day, Tish is walking down the sidewalk with a box of stolen goods, and Officer Bell approaches her. He asks her if he can carry the box for her, but she refuses. He then tells her he wished that she and Fonny didn't think that he was a bad guy.
Fonny is making a sculpture, but he is nervous about cutting into the block of wood for the first time. He considers it deeply, caresses the wood, gets himself a beer and a cigarette. Then, he wakes up from his dream about making art in his jail cell. His mind feels cloudy, and he can't remember what day of the week it is anymore. He needs a shower. He masturbates. The walls of his cell feel like they are closing in around him.
At 6 P.M., Tish comes to visit Fonny. She tells him that his trial date has been set for very soon and that Fonny just needs to be patient. She reveals that Mr. Hayward will try to influence the jury by telling them that Officer Bell killed an African American teenager a few years ago. Fonny feels hopeless, and says that this will hurt his case, since the jury will then like Officer Bell for cleaning up the streets. Tish tells Fonny that he cannot think that way and that he must keep the faith. They part ways by raising a fist in each others' direction.
Sharon gets back from Puerto Rico and fills the Rivers family in on everything she did while she was over there. She tells them that Mrs. Rogers lost her mind, had a miscarriage, and was institutionalized. She tells them that Jaime, her taxi driver, told her that she will never be seen again. This news gives the Rivers family hope, since the State will have no choice but to postpone a case for which they have no defense. Joseph tells Frank the news that the trial has been postponed, and he takes it very poorly. He has lost hope that his son will be released from jail. Even if they do get the possibility for bail, he thinks that they will be unable to pay it, and Fonny will still be stuck in there. After hearing Frank and Joseph's raised voices, Adrienne, Fonny's sister, enters the room and asks what is wrong. Frank explodes at her, and from the expression on her face, Joseph can see that Adrienne loves her father.
Tish goes to the Tombs to tell Fonny that his trial is postponed, and she sees a strange peace pass through his eyes. He decides to fight the situation he is in from within rather than simply avoiding it. Tish notifies Fonny that the court has approved the possibility for bail but that it will be expensive.
When Tish is very pregnant, Pedrocito drives Tish to the jail to let Fonny know that they have almost gotten all of the money for bail. Fonny tells Tish that he sees himself as an "artisan" rather than an artist, now. He wants to create things that cause real change rather than simply aesthetically pleasing objects. Tish reflects that she will never see the Fonny she once knew again, but she tells Fonny, "Wherever you lead me . . . I'll follow" (193).
Tish gets a call from a frantic Adrienne, who asks her if she has recently heard from Frank. She tells Tish that Frank was fired for stealing and that he was very upset. Tish tells Adrienne that she hasn't seen him and bridges the gap between them that has existed since the "summit meeting," when they told the Hunt family about the pregnancy. Joseph comes home and tells Tish and Sharon that Frank has committed suicide. At that moment, Tish feels the baby coming. In the last few lines of the novel, Tish describes Fonny working on his sculpture while the baby "cries and cries and cries" (197).
