This Day in History: 'Do the Right Thing' Is Released in Theaters

This Day in History: , 'Do the Right Thing' Is Released in Theaters.

June 30, 1989.

'Do the Right Thing' is American auteur-director Spike Lee's third film.

The film takes place over the course of the hottest day of the year in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn.

It examines racial tensions in the neighborhood that result in the police killing of an unarmed black man.

In a scene that has played out countless times since the film was released, the character Radio Raheem is put in a chokehold by police until he suffocates to death.

Now considered a seminal American film addressing the issue of race, 'Do the Right Thing' was controversial when it was released.

Lee was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar.

Danny Aiello was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor