Respect, disrespect, and the desire for respect are present throughout McCall’s book. For black Americans, a group of people disrespected for centuries, respect was central to their psychology and motivated many of their actions. Perceived disrespect was a serious offense often countered with violence.

The desire for power in black America was like respect. Black Americans had no power and hadn’t for some time, so they relished any ability to gain power. This motivated the rise of guns in black communities. Guns commanded power, which commanded respect.

McCall spends a lot of his memoir reckoning with the definition of manhood. Parents of this generation didn’t communicate things like manhood to their children, so they were left to figure it out on their own. McCall learned about manhood on the streets, and it was defined by a macho mentality, mistreatment of women, and violence. Later, in prison and after his release, McCall grew to understand integrity, intelligence, character, and other virtues that truly encompass manhood, and he rejected his previous, flawed definition.