Now you can go to school, study hard, live your dreams … people fought, struggled, and died for that possibility. Dr. King died for that, son. And what are you doing? Not studying! No, you are catting class, runnin’ and thuggin’, not listening to your momma or grandmother. Instead you want to listen to some hoodlum friends.
-- "Judge Curtis Walker" (a pseudonym) (Introduction)

Importance: This is the key point made in what the author refers to as the judge's "Martin Luther King" speech, a speech he often made (with some variation) to young black offenders (usually male) whose cases he was trying in court. The speech, and this particular quote, references the ideals of Dr. King, and the fact that he was assassinated by a white man with racist leanings while fighting to improve the lives of black individuals and black communities.

This was a black nation fresh off the battlefields of Selma and Watts; few doubted that...
-- Narration (The Author) (Part 1, Chapter 1)