Spike Lee used famous figures from US popular culture to add layers of complexity to his characters. Famous athletes are idolized by the residents of Bedford Stuyvesant, and through portraits on a wall of fame or jerseys worn, their ideologies are symbolically represented in this film. However, most of the famous figures admired by the community are not on the wall of fame, which, due to Sal not wanting to put any black people on the wall, causes most of the conflict in the film. The issues raised by Lee in 1989 are mostly still true to social issues today. The Black Lives Matter movement can be traced back to similar events at the end of Do the Right Thing, thus showing the films