A Black gang member robs a store and is shot in a mysterious field called The Pass. He wakes up to find himself 150 years back in history during slavery. He has been shot by slavehunters escaping the plantation. He remembers the future and realizes how much he has lost. He is now a slave and helpless, no control, no hope. The lessons Jordan learns could lead him back to freedom.

Tribalism uses history to describe why the present is as it is. It takes an honest, hard and eye-opening look at issues ignored for too long.

The setting, Dorchester County, Maryland, the location of Harriet Tubman's plantation, is the same in the future and during slavery. The plantation is the same location as Jordan's home neighborhood.

The open field called "The Pass" in the present is secretly called "The Passage" on the plantation. The creek Jordan will escape over will have been reduced to a dry brook bed in the future, only flooding during storm runoffs. Jordan has never left the plantation, his family has never left the plantation, and the plantation has never left him. He and his gang buddies are still working for master, serving him instead of serving themselves.

Jordan has to decide: is he a prisoner or a slave? A slave only sought to please Master and success was getting the best job on the plantation. A prisoner was always looking for a way to escape, never surrendering his identity or self-esteem. He seeks freedom from the plantation and raises his children to do the same.

After he discovered he must escape, Jordan had to walk a thin line knowing who to trust and who to believe, distinguishing between real friends and those not supporting him. He learns the secret code language of prisoners. He learns to dissect the language of songs sang in the fields. Finally he discovers the Preacher was the head of the Underground Railroad.

Jordan discovers why they called that field "The Pass", on the plantation it was called "The Passage" because crossing that creek led north to freedom. He learns to respect Black women when he is led to freedom by Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad. He learns to respect white people when he sees who runs the Safe houses. He gets free and learns to respect himself when he meets Frederick Douglass, who tells him: "No one is free until all are free."

Jordan, the selfish gang member who only thought of himself and expected everything from everyone, was now giving up everything for someone else. Jordan faces his trial as a changed man. He has learned the lessons of manhood, success, and sacrificing for others. Jordan is now truly a free man.