A poster from the 1989 Spike Lee film, “Do the Right Thing” featuring color images of Danny Aiello, Spike Lee, and a young unidentified girl as seen from above. The title appears as the girl's chalk ...

In 1989, the warnings were dire that the Spike Lee film “Do the Right Thing” would provoke violence and disrupt race relations. Instead, it provoked conversation - and still is 30 years later.

It has been decades since Esposito’s role in “Do the Right Thing,” but he still recalls how impactful the film was to him. “My background is half-Italian and in those days, being a lighter ...