Angie Thomas, an African-American young adult author, wrote the novel, The Hate U Give, that follows a protagonist drawn to activism after she witnessed an officer shooting of her unarmed friend. Apart of a mostly white populated high school, Starr Carterr is the cool African American teen who’s semi-athletic, has a large group of friends and a sweet boyfriend. However, none of her peers know much more about her, like that she lives in Garden Heights - an area known as the ghetto. She’s a part of two opposite communities and has to constantly switch faces to suit each one. While at school, she tries to control her attitude and actions, fearing to become an “angry black woman; ” whereas, at home, she’s ridiculed for losing her roots. As said before, Starr is constantly switching between two different lifestyles until she takes a ride home with her friend Khalil in Garden Heights. They are pulled over by a cop, as Khalil is taken out of the car, while they are both unarmed. After making a slight movement, Khalil is shot dead by the police officer with the only witness being Starr. After this tragedy, Starr has to choose if she wants her different worlds to collide, as she fights for justice. Reading this story opens the reader’s mind and …show more content…
A lot of outlooks feed on demonizing anyone who’s a victim of police brutality, exploiting any negative background knowledge about them; however, The Hate U Give brings back their humanity by looking at situations who are trying to get through life and protect their families. Despite focusing on African American characters, as well as police brutality, Thomas does not write the novel to portray anti-cop vibes, nor the Black Lives Moment. Instead, it highlights the fact that there are great cops, and other who abuse their power. Starr is constantly reminded that while there is evil, there is also