Nathaniel Hamilton is a star basketball player from the neighborhood, nicknamed "Cornbread."

In the film, he epitomizes the dream of the neighborhood to be successful, as he is about to become the first from his district to enter college on an athletic scholarship.

As the police officers are coming out of an alleyway, they see Cornbread running and mistake him for the suspect they are seeking.

The coroner's inquest is hampered by severe police intimidation, and no one knows anything about the shooting, except for Wilford, who appears on the witness stand in court by telling exactly what he saw (in graphic detail).

The film had its premiere on May 20, 1975 at New York City's Penthouse Theatre for the benefit of the United Negro College Fund.