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Police Brutality And Racial Profiling In The Hate U Give By Angie Thomas

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Police Brutality and Racial Profiling in the 21st Century
In modern day society, racial discrimination and stereotypes are common and unavoidable. Especially in African American cultures and societies, they struggle with racism nearly everyday. Author Angie Thomas addresses these societal issues in her novel, The Hate U Give. Thomas describes the effects of such issues through Starr Carter and the death of her best friend Khalil Harris due to police brutality. In the novel, The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, Thomas uses symbols and characterization to convey how racial profiling and police brutality detrimentally divide a community and cause injustice.
Thomas uses symbols to convey racial profiling, police brutality, and the abuse of power against African American people. While at a high school party, Starr Carter meets an old family friend, Khalil Harris. That is until gunshots break out and Khalil offers to drive Starr home. As they were driving home, Khalil was pulled over by a police officer. Everything about the traffic stop was normal until the officer called Khalil out of the car. As Khalil got out, he leaned through the open window to make sure Starr was safe. That is when the officer …show more content…

Thomas does so through Starr’s white boyfriend, Chris, and her best friend, Hailey. Even more so, Thomas emphasizes the racial injustice in the aftermath of Khalil’s shooting and the trauma it had brought to those close to Khalil. For example, in Maverick’s life, such violence has become normal and an everyday lifestyle after previously living in Williamson. Similarly, for Starr after the shooting, she was emotionally and psychologically damaged. She experienced depression, panic attacks, and PTSD symptoms. The impact of the violence and racial injustice experienced by the black community often goes

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