In Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, disc jockey Mr. Señor Love Daddy wakes his morning listeners with soulful rhythms and prepares them for the sweltering heat of the summer's day. The nearby eatery and hangout is Sal's Famous Pizzeria. Young locals Buggin' Out, Radio Raheem, and pizza delivery guy Mookie (Spike Lee) view Sal's as a symbol of the successful economic and cultural assimilation of Italian Americans and as an oppressive economic force that profits at their expense. Existing racial tensions btw merchant and community are exacerbated when Sal refuses to place pictures of prominent African Americans on his shop's Wall of Fame. When Radio Raheem and Buggin' Out confront Sal (Danny Aiello) on his exclusionism, tempers fly and tragedy ensues.