“The Hate U Give” is a young adult novel written by Angie Thomas and is on the New York Times Best Sellers list. The novel centers on a young teen named Starr and her life after her friend Khalil is shot and killed by a police officer. Starr lives two different lives, one in the prep school that she attends and the other at her home on the wrong side of the tracks. After the shooting, Starr is thrown into the middle of investigations, court appearances and protests. She was the only witness to the shooting and is Khalil’s only voice from that terrible night.
After the shooting, Starr stares at Khalil’s body on the pavement and says, “They finally put the sheet over Khalil. He can’t breathe under it. I can’t breathe.” These words adopted from Eric Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe.” Garner was a victim of racial violence in 2014 and was killed in an altercation with the New York City’s law enforcement. He was arrested by the police when an arresting officer put him in what was described as a chokehold. Garner spoke these words eight times before he took his last breath. He was just one victim of racial violence that we have heard about in the past few years.
Thomas also took inspiration from rapper Tupac’s “Thug Life” released Sept. 26, 1994. Thomas’ book’s title came from the acronym “Thug,” “The Hate U Give.” The meaning behind this song is exactly what Thomas wrote about in her book; it is about how society feeds their youth who grow up believing in what they are fed. If society feeds hate, then hate is what will manifest in the end. When society feeds hate, hate is what enters society as adults.
At a time in our history when the awareness of the phenomenon racial violence is at its peak, Thomas gives us a story that dives into the tensions between law enforcement and the community.
This novel is scheduled to become a motion picture. Some famous names have been announced for the cast including: Amandla Stenberg (“Everything, Everything”), Algee Smith (“Earth to Echo”), Lamar Johnson (“Kings”), Regina Hall (“Law Abiding Citizen”), Russell Hornsby (“Grimm”), Common (“Selma”) and Issa Rae (“Exhale”). Amandla Stenberg will play the star in “The Hate U Give.”
Angie Thomas Taken By Anissa Photography