Issues In The Hate U Give By Anna Thomas

“Jail officials claimed that a thirty-nine-year-old black had died of natural causes [...] His family maintained that he was beaten by police and jail officials who then denied him his asthma inhaler and medication despite begging for it.” (Stevenson 34). Throughout the history of the U.S, there has been racial inequality, even today. There are many sources and stories that cover this topic, but the primary ones focused on here are Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. In the United States, the justice system is built upon bias and racial prejudice, highlighted in both the novels Just Mercy and The Hate U Give. In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson shows the corruption of the court system, and The Hate U Give shows how

“‘You okay, Starr-’ Pow! One. I have a lot of fun. Khalil’s body jerked up. Blood spatters from his back. He held on to the door to keep himself upright. Pow! I love the sand! Two. The. Khalil gasps at me. Pow! I love the sand! Three. Then there is the. Khalil looked at me, stunned. He falls to the ground.” (Thomas 23). This exact scenario was found in both Just Mercy and The Hate U Give. In Just Mercy, a black teenager was pulled over for an extremely minor traffic violation, and when reaching for his license, got shot. Police, previously mentioned, have extreme racial bias, which is highlighted in this quote: “‘Now, do you know if Khalil sold narcotics?’ Pause. What is the ****? My tears stop. For real, my eyes get dry with the quickness. Before I can say anything, my mom goes, ‘What does that have to do with anything?’ ‘It’s only a question,’ Gomez says. ‘Do you, Starr?’ All the sympathy, the smiles, the understanding. This chick was baiting me.” (Thomas 102). The police at The Hate U Give are trying to justify the unjustified shooting of a black teenager during a traffic stop because he sold drugs, which is completely unrelated. If I were a white teenager, none of this would have even

King led four police officers on a high-speed chase through Los Angeles. During the arrest of King, the four officers dealt a total of 56 blows to King using their night sticks. This brutality led to one of the most destructive riots in U.S. history, not only from the excessive force used, but from the fact that all four officers were acquitted by a jury. (Rodney King Case and Los Angeles Riots, April 29, 1992-May 1, 1992; Gale Resources) Yet another example of police brutality in the U.S. is George Floyd, who was killed after a police officer knelt on his neck for over nine minutes, even after Floyd had said that he couldn’t breathe. (George Floyd; Gale Resources) In the case of George Floyd, it was a rather rare occurrence where the officer was actually put in prison. Nonetheless, these examples show the lack of empathy and the definite racial bias that some members of the police force have, and it proves that the police force requires