NEW YORK, NY June 30, 2009 —Twenty years ago, director Spike Lee debuted his independent feature film "Do The Right Thing". The plot takes place in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Styuvesant on the hottest day of the year, in 1989.

It explores escalating racial tensions in the city after real-life incidents like the beating death of an African-American man in Howard Beach and the unsubstantiated rape of Twana Brawley in 1987. Here, Lee depicts the additional tensions caused by gentrification.

From the film: "I own this brownstone". "Who told you to buy a brownstone on my block, in my neighborhood, on my side of the street? Yo why would you want to leave in a black neighborhood anyway? Man, (expletive)Gentrification!" "well, as I understand this is a free country, a man can live where ever he wants." "Free country? Man I should (expletive) you up for saying some stupid (expletive) like that alone!"

REPORTER: Director Spike Lee wrote, produced, directed and starred in the film as 'Mookie', a wayward pizza delivery man for the fictitious Sal's Pizzeria, where much of the film's plot takes place.

Speaking on the Brian Lehrer Show, Kai Wright, senior writer for "The Root.com", an African-American online magazine, says having the movie take place on one city block forces the characters to interact in a unique way.

WRIGHT: Everybody is engaged in this deeply intimate dance with one another. And working it out. And as Radio Raheem tells us, when it gets hot and things get difficult, sometimes love and hate get confused.

REPORTER: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has declared today "Spike Lee Day" in the borough, to commemorate the June 30th debut of "Do the Right Thing".

"Do the Right Thing" has been deemed 'culturally significant' by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.