A satirical portrait of race relations in early 21st-century America, writer/director Justin Simien's playfully perceptive feature debut tells the story of a biracial Winchester University student whose controversial radio show sparks a media frenzy of epic proportions. When Samantha White (Tessa Thompson) begins her radio program by declaring that white people will now be required to have two black friends in order to avoid appearing racist (and that drug dealers don't count), she immediately catches the attention of the all-black residential hall that is being forced out of existence due to diversification. Subsequently elected president of the hall, Samantha becomes the subject of a reality show that deals with racial issues. Meanwhile, the Winchester University's all-white student newspaper staff mistakenly assumes that young black outcast Lionel Higgins (Tyler James Williams) is an expert on black culture, and recruits him to report on the brewing controversy.