Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and analyzes the source text’s treatment of racism.

It is autumn in Harlem, New York. The narrator describes the city, emphasizing it is full of young people.

Black teenagers Damien Battle and Kevin come across their rivals—Sledge and Chico—as they exit their high school.

Sledge both mocks Damien and brags about his own basketball skills in a rap. Damien retorts that Sledge’s rap ability is poor, insisting they will one day compete, but not today. He and Kevin leave.