Police brutality has become a very controversial topic in the United States over the past few years. The book All American Boys written by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds, tells the perspectives of two high school boys from Springfield and how police brutality has impacted their lives. Rashad is a black male who loves to draw, he is also in ROTC but only does it to make his father happy. Rashad lives in a traditional nuclear family with his mother, father, and older brother Spoony. His best friends are English, Shannon, and Carlos. Then there is Quinn a white male whose number one focus is getting a starting spot on the basketball team to better his chances to get a college scholarship. Quinn comes from a single parent family. This causes …show more content…
This had a big impact on Quinn's decision to participate in the march and stand up for what's right. This was a hard decision because he was worried about what people especially Paul and Guzzo would think of him. He did not want to lose his best friend and his ‘role model’ or ‘big brother’ because of the decision he was making. “Attitude is a function of how one perceives the action’s outcome will be received by others” (pg. 100) This was why in the beginning of the book Quinn was not saying what he believed because he didn't want to betray Guzzo or Paul. Another barrier Quinn faced in deciding whether or not to march was that he would have to miss basketball practice potentially leading to him not receiving a starting spot on the team, limiting his chances to receive a scholarship. After Quinn reflected on his values he learned he cared more about justice for Rashad then he did achieving the starting spot or keeping his friendships with Guzzo and Paul. He realized the reward of knowing he did the right thing by marching for Rashad was more important to him then the cost of his friendships or his future leading him to profit from his decision. Even though Quinn met his individual need of getting justice for Rashad there are still issues today involving police