The Friendship

In the summer of 1933 in rural Mississippi, Cassie Logan and her brothers, Stacey, Christopher-John, and Little Man, walk to the Wallace store. Their parents have forbidden them from going there because the white Wallace family mistreats Black people. However, the children are on an errand to buy head medicine for an elderly neighbor, Aunt Callie Jackson. On the store's porch, they see a white boy, Jeremy Simms, who nods at them shyly before moving to the corner to wait for his family.

Inside, the storekeepers, brothers Dewberry and Thurston Wallace, ignore the children. Little Man, who is six and prides himself on being clean, places his hands on a glass counter to get a better look at the shiny items inside. Dewberry yells at him, calling his hands filthy and his skin as black as dirt. Thurston jokes that Dewberry should chop the boy's hands off, tossing him an ax. A frightened and hurt Little Man insists his hands are clean. Stacey quickly intervenes, putting a protective arm around his younger brother and leading him away.

After buying the medicine, the children meet Mr. Tom Bee, an elderly Black man, on the porch. He is carrying two strings of fish, one for Aunt Callie, and tells the children to wait so he can walk with them after a quick stop in the store. While they wait, Stacey tries to comfort Little Man, who is still deeply upset by the Wallaces' cruelty. Jeremy Simms, still on the porch, tries to start a conversation with Stacey about fishing.

From the porch, the children overhear a confrontation between Mr. Tom Bee and Dewberry. Dewberry refuses to sell Mr. Tom Bee sardines and candy, insulting him. Mr. Tom Bee demands to see the store owner, calling him by his first name, John. The store falls silent, as this violates the unwritten racial code of the time, where all white people, even children, call Black adults by their first names, while Black people must address white people with formal titles like Mister. Dewberry threatens Mr. Tom Bee for his perceived disrespect, calling him an old nigger who needs to be taught a lesson.

John Wallace, the store owner and father of Dewberry and Thurston, enters and sends his sons to the back of the store. He then closes the front doors, but the children can still hear the conversation through the open windows. John tells Mr. Tom Bee that he can no longer call him by his first name in front of others, as it makes him look bad. Mr. Tom Bee reminds John that he saved his life years ago and has earned the right to call him John. John gives Mr. Tom Bee the candy canes, and Mr. Tom Bee picks up his sardines. John then warns him that his patience is gone and he must be addressed properly next time. Mr. Tom Bee leaves a string of fish for John and exits.

Outside, Mr. Tom Bee gives candy canes to the Logan children and to Jeremy. He reassures Little Man that the Wallaces are foolish and their words are meaningless. As they walk away, Stacey asks Mr. Tom Bee why he insists on calling the storekeeper by his first name. Mr. Tom Bee explains that years ago, he found a fifteen-year-old John Wallace sinking in swampland and nursed him back to health. John lived with him and, upon leaving, promised that Mr. Tom Bee could always call him John. When John returned years later and opened the store, he broke his promise. Mr. Tom Bee says he has recently decided to force John to honor his word, despite the danger.

After delivering the medicine and fish to Aunt Callie, the group passes the Wallace store again on their way home. Mr. Tom Bee decides to go back inside for some tobacco. The store is now filled with other white men, including Jeremy's father, Charlie Simms, and his older brothers. Mr. Tom Bee again addresses the owner as John. Pressured by the other men, who challenge his authority, John Wallace tells Mr. Tom Bee to leave. When Mr. Tom Bee insists, Wallace silently gets the tobacco. As Mr. Tom Bee takes the tobacco and turns to leave, saying, Thank ya, John, the confrontation reaches its peak.

As Mr. Tom Bee steps onto the porch, John Wallace picks up a shotgun and shoots him in the leg, causing him to tumble down the steps while the white men on the porch snigger. John Wallace stands over the wounded man, telling him he made him do it and that the disrespect must stop. Lying bleeding on the ground, Mr. Tom Bee looks up at him and defiantly declares that he will call him John until Judgment Day. He then begins to drag his wounded body down the road, repeatedly crying out, John! John! John! The Logan children and Jeremy watch in stunned silence.