Spike Lee Releases Do the Right Thing, Depicting Racial Tension and Police Killing

Spike Lee writes, directs, and stars in Do the Right Thing, set on a single hot day on a Bedford-Stuyvesant block in Brooklyn. The film climaxes with police choking Radio Raheem, a young Black man, to death — directly evoking Michael Stewart and anticipating later killings. The film is nominated for two Academy Awards and is debated by critics for its portrayal of riots as understandable responses to oppression.