Mookie

Living... on Stuyvesant Avenue, in an African-American neighborhood in Brooklyn. He has lived on the same block his whole life. Right now, he’s living with his sister Jade, but she wants him out of her apartment.

Profession... delivery guy and floor sweeper at Sal's Pizzeria, a fixture in the neighborhood. Sal is Italian and has hired his sons, Pino and Vito, to work there. Mookie is friends with Vito, but he can’t stand Pino, who constantly makes racial slurs at him and the customers, who are nearly all African-American. Mookie takes the disrespect because he needs the money to help support his son. But he’s not going to put too much effort into working for people like that.

Interests... people-watching on his block. He can usually count on seeing Radio Raheem show up with his gigantic jukebox, always playing the same rap song, “Fight the Power” at an earth-shaking volume. There’s da Mayor, the neighborhood drunk, and Buggin’ Out, the neighborhood revolutionary. Mookie knows everyone, and always stops for a chat while on his way to deliver a pizza.

Relationship Status... separated. Tina said he didn't know how to treat her right or how to take care of their child. She says that he's a two-bit bum in a hundred dollar world. But he hasn’t given up on trying to make it work. He asks her to trust him, but she responds, “Trust you? The last time I trusted you, Mookie, I ended up with a son.”

Challenge... making it through the hottest day of the summer while tempers are flaring everywhere. The blacks, the Italians, the Koreans, the cops, and the gentrifying white guys—they’re all clashing. And Sal’s Pizzeria is the epicenter of the fight.

Personality... outgoing. Mookie knows everyone. He tries to be an upbeat guy, but things are starting to make him angry, and something has to give. He tells Vito,  “If you don't make a stand, he's gonna be beating ya like a egg for the rest of your life.” He’s talking about Pino, but sibling rivalry isn’t the only problem he has to solve.