In a production of ""Romeo and Juliet"" at a predominately white school, Jamal James Garrett, a black kid, plays Romeo. This aggravates racial tensions because a white girl, Leigh-Ann, plays Juliet. When Jamal is taunted, he retaliates by burning a Confederate flag. Community outrage erupts, and he is expelled from school. Reggie sues the school to have Jamal reinstated, but her own life is in danger from a group of bigoted assailants. Momma Love defends the Confederate flag as a great symbol of their Southern heritage. Roy, who weighs the virtue of the law against the typical character of his political supporters, publicly urges Jamal's indictment for burning the flag, while privately masterminding his release.

After speaking negatively about gangs, Reggie's friend, Delores Mayfield, is shot and killed by a gang member. Her son, Justin, who saw his mother get killed, thinks he was the intended victim because he is dating the killer's sister. Justin disappears and joins a rival gang to get revenge on his mother's murderer. Meanwhile, Reggie and Clint try to locate the boy's father, Earl Blount, a reformed ex-convict, so he can help his son and remove him from gang life.