In our society today, cases involving black on white crime have become more frequent. Because of this, several controversies and disputes within our community have taken place. Dear Martin, written by Nic Stone, is a story about the tragic shooting of two African-American boys, Manny and Justyce. Hence, Stone’s demonstration of the story, which includes black on white crime, emphasizes similar conflicts that have occured in the real world.

First off, the establishment of the plot begins when white police officer, Garrett Tison, shoots Manny and Justyce, over an unnecessary argument about loud music. As an illustration, “there was a brief dispute over loud music before shots were fired from one vehicle to the other.” (Stone 123). In 2014, Michael Brown Jr., an African-American man, was shot by caucasian police officer, Darren Wilson. The situation presented relates notably to the storyline of Dear Martin.  This suggests that Nic Stone’s purpose for writing Dear Martin signifies the controversies that have developed in real life. Following the shooting of Michael Brown, thousands of people also held protests, in honor of his death.

Additionally, in Dear Martin, several rallies took place for Manny and Justyce, protesting for the justice of Manny’s death. For example, “people all over the country have rallied to the cause: wearing Justice for JAM t-shirts” (Stone 148). Correspondingly, the death of Michael Brown Jr. later sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, a series of nationwide protests, where people fought for racial equality. The similarities between the events, provides justification for Stone’s writing purpose. Therefore, it’s a likely possibility that Nic Stone has written Dear Martin, to highlight major issues that have occured in our society.When comparing the book and real life, both situations accommodate the lack of justice for the victims.

Ultimately, Justyce loses the court case because of major altercations, and does not receive justice for the death of Manny. As proof, “There won’t be a second trial… Garrett Tison is dead.” (Stone 197). After Michael Brown’s incident, the Department of Justice declared that Darren Wilson shot Brown, in self-defense. Although the situations do differentiate in ways, the outcome turns out almost the same. Both the victims, Manny and Michael, did not acquire fair treatment for their deaths. Nic Stone ended the story this way, because she wanted readers to be aware of  the events happening in real life. She became frustrated and angered, because of the deaths and injustices. By writing Dear Martin, she hoped to overcome this frustration and inform readers that the past killings of the African-Americans, wasn’t right and these victims needed justice.

In conclusion, Stone writes about this specific problem, because of the resembling crimes that have happened in the modern world. She emphasizes the similar conflicts that have occured today, by displaying the hardships that Justyce went through. Stone included these events in her book for a meaningful reason. By reading her book and spotting these similarities, the purpose for her story has become more clear. Nic Stone yearned for readers to realize how our society is flawed, and how it should change for the better.