It's 1966 and dewey turner is determined to start the school year right. No more being the brunt of every joke. No more "Deweyitis." But after he stains his face with shoe polish trying to mimic the popular shoeshine boy...It's 1966 and dewey turner is determined to start the school year right. No more being the brunt of every joke. No more "Deweyitis." But after he stains his face with shoe polish trying to mimic the popular shoeshine boy at the minstrel show, he begins seventh grade on an even lower rung, earning the nickname sambo and being barred from the "Whites only" Bathroom.