Fan Casting Mr. Julian Rivers in Dear Martin

Julian Rivers is Manny’s father. A successful man who has worked his way to the top of a well-respected company, Julian Rivers wants his son to understand that adversity doesn’t simply go away for black people once they secure well-paying jobs. To illustrate this, he sits down one afternoon with Manny and Justyce and tells them that one of his employees called him a racial slur earlier that day. When Manny and Justyce express their astonishment, he calmly tells them that this is something he deals with on a regular basis—a fact that depresses Justyce, who suddenly sees that even powerful black men like Julian often face “disrespect.”